well I just wrote an extraordinarily long blog updating you all on my trip with my mom. And not much has really happened since then. On Easter I went to a procession and saw some people who looked like the KKK, but they weren't, just some Catholic sinners. I am becoming somewhat overwhelmed with the amount of work that keeps piling up in school. I think I'm in denial that I have to do work in Spain.
Last week we went to see Tensión Sexual No Resuelta, a Spanish film with API, which was basically a porno, no surprise there. Then this week my friends and I went to see Querido John (Dear John) and I thought it was the dumbest Nicholas Sparks movie I have ever seen. It was depressing and I felt that I left the movie less of a person than when I arrived.
I have been trying to go out a lot more because I realize that after I get back to the US, it will be a very long time before I can go out again (aka 9 months), and the nightlife in Granada is way better anyways. And, though I didn't expect it to happen, I am getting sad that I am leaving people again. I don't know why but I didn't expect to make good friendships like I did last semester, but I must be crazy. Now I have amigas in Wisconsin to go visit! haha. But luckily Allison, Jess, and King live in the Pac NW, so I will be seeing them this summer and hopefully for years to come. :)
Travel news: In two weeks the girls and I will be in Lisbon, Portugal! It's going to be a lovely beach weekend (weather permitting) and I'm totally pumped. And the weekend after that...the girls (minus Emily) are flying to MARRAKECH!! This will be Africa experience #2, for 5 days this time, and I'm expecting it to be 10 billion times better. I am nervous because we're going with girls, no boys, and we're not going with a tour group. But this is what it's all about. ADVENTURE.
As for now though, I need to get some school work done, unfortunately. I have been reading up a storm for my Images of Women in Spanish Lit class, and I would really like to get a head start on my papers that are due at the end of the term. If only I could just be here in España, sans school.
TIME GOES BY TOO FAST.
un besito,
MacKenzie
Friday, April 16, 2010
far too late=Mom's visit!
I have now showered and french braided my hair, cut my nails, mascara-ed my lashes, and settled into bed. What? Something isn't adding up...shouldn't I be going out? NO. First of all, I'm sick, and I went out last night which did not help matters. Second of all, I have an ever-growing list of things to do that is about to take over my life. In conclusion, the last possible thing I could possibly do to procrastinate is write in my blog. Which is actually on my list of things to do....so I'm being productive...right? Anyways.
Hey, it's been awhile! I haven't written in over a month, and I have done so much since. I'm going to try to remember everything but we'll see. So Mom arrived to Spain about a month ago (can't believe so much time has passed since she was here!) I met her in Madrid, and we spent her first evening in Spain at dinner (eating raw fish-yikes!) and then exploring the area near our hotel. There wasn't much touristy stuff around, plus it was like 11 pm, so we just walked to the Plaza del Toros in Madrid, which I thought would be a nice starter for Mom's European experience. It was funny having Mom here, very refreshing actually. Because she really reminded me of just how different Europe is than home. I've been living here so long, and I've done so much traveling, that I am kind of getting to the point of realizing that people are people no matter where you go, and despite the differences in appearance and food and language, the world is really the same through and through. But Mom had never been to Europe, so she commented on everything, because everything she ate and saw and heard was completely brand new to her. The street signs. The street. The buildings. The windows. The lampposts. The gas stations. The cars. I could keep going. =) But it was really fun to start to be the tour guide for Mom's first adventure in Europe!
On Sunday, March 21st we tried to fit as much Madrid culture as we could into the day. Although we had a late night the night before, we were out of bed at 7:30 to get ready to explore. We had some difficulties though. We could NOT figure out how to get the shower to work!! Only the tub. So after trying to wash my hair under the faucet with no success, I took the first bath I've taken since I was like 6. And really, I think baths are kind of gross. Soaking in your own filth? Ick. Anyways. After we got all ready we took the metro over to the city center and visited a few museums. We went to the Reina Sofia Art Museum, which is really famous for contemporary art. I had already been there when I was in Madrid in August, and I didn't like it too much but since it was free on Sundays I wanted to show Mom Picasso's Guernica painting (super famous-look it up if you haven't seen it before). Then we went to the Prado Museum which has more traditional art and is one of the most famous art museums in the world for paintings. I loved the Prado in August, I loved it in March, and I hope to go back again someday. Mom enjoyed the Prado much more than Reina Sofia also. After our museum visits we were pretty tired from standing for so long so we hopped into a restaurant that seemed full of Spaniards (when in Europe-do not go to a restaurant unless you see people who live in that country dining there-it usually isn't good if there aren't) and Mom had her first paella! I was a little nervous because no paella amounts to the deliciousness of Marí Carmen's, but this was the best paella I have ever eaten in a restaurant. Score! Plus it was a huge meal for a real good price, which is hard to find when you're surrounded by tourist traps. Looks like I'm becoming less of a tourist maybe?? We hopped a bus to Granada and had a very long awkward ride in which Mom was sitting behind this nasty guy who had his seat leaned back and was snoring and making strange noises the whole time. Mom wanted to say something (naturally) but did not have the language capabilities, and I of course could not be assertive and say something myself. I need help. I really do.
Our time in Granada was absolutely amazing. I loved all the time we spent together during Semana Santa too, but my favorite part of Mom being here was getting to be the tour guide, showing her all around my city. I honestly feel like I have more of a relationship with this city than with Bellingham! I couldn't believe how many places I wanted to take Mom--the tourist places, all of my usual places, tapa bars, regular bars, my gym, etc. I would never have that many places to show anyone in Bellingham! The only crappy part about Mom visiting at that time was that it was midterm week, so I had to waste some of my time studying. But I guess that's why I'm in Spain at all....anyways. There wasn't anything wildly exciting about anything we did, but we spent our days exploring the city, and our nights wandering to tapas bars for dinner. Mom agrees with me that tapas are the best invention in the world, and we want to start a tapa bar someday! I can't say it isn't a serious goal, it would be amazing. Tuesday we made the hike up to the Alhambra so Mom would be able to say Granada's, and even Spain's, most famous landmark from the Muslim reign in Spain. She thought it to be pretty cool, as do most people who visit Granada. It's impressive. However, on the way up to the Alhambra Mom, not so surprisingly, tripped and twisted her ankle.....which didn't seem like a problem at the time but proved to be a significant hinder to her activities for the rest of the 2 weeks she was here! I always made fun of her (obviously) but I really did feel bad that that happened, because it was clear that she hurt herself and her ankle really bothered her the rest of the time. When I was in class Monday-Wednesday Mom usually read in the sun or I sent her to Cafe Futbol (where my friends and I get churros) or Hannigan's (the Irish pub by my school). She wanted to walk around a little, but not having a phone and Mom being slightly directionally challenged, I didn't think this was such a good idea, because I don't know what I would do if I lost my mother in Granada. So we walked around a ton together when I wasn't in class. One day we went to the Cathedral in Granada which was a cool experience because although I've seen 7,000 other cathedrals/churches in Europe, I hadn't been to the one in Granada and Mom had never been to one ever! It is huge, and I thought it was really cool for Mom to see. We also got to see something I didn't even know was in Granada! Next to the cathedral (though I think it's technically part of the same building) lie the remains of the Reyes Católicos (Catholic Kings) who threw out the Muslims and who sent Christofer Columbus off the the Americas in 1492. We actually got to go down into the crypt and see their coffins through a glass window! It was very cool, and I felt remotely lame I didn't even know that was there until now!
One quite hilarious event was when we went to the Flamenco show with the rest of API. We walked up to the Albaicin (which hurt mom's ankle, and her lungs, a bit) and everyone crammed into one of the refurbished caves that they use for flamenco shows. I loved it! Everyone last semester said it was kind of lame but I thought it was really cool, especially since we had been learning about it in my Spanish Civilization and Culture class. Oh, but the comical part. Well, at the end of the show one of the bailadores (dancers) grabbed mom's hand and pulled her up to dance with him. Out of all the people in the room, all the young college girls, he grabs the visiting American mother's hand. And she of course went for it and began to SHIMMY when the dancer guy began to shimmy. I do not think I have ever laughed SO hard in my entire life. It was so hysterical. And I thought I got it on video but the memory card was full so all I captured was about half of a shimmy! What a bummer. But a few of my friends got some good pictures. So that was memorable. Good times at flamenco!!
We walked A LOT. I recently learned that Mom lost 6 pounds on the trip, whereas of course I remain the same or gain weight. But we also determined this is because I do this all the time, and Mom doesn't really work out and came and got the workout of a lifetime with all that walking! But don't be fooled, we also did a lot of eating. I took her to Café Fútbol, Café Bar Playa, Feng Shui, Poë, and then we explored tons of new tapa bars that I hadn't been to before. One day in Granada we walked up to the Albaicin/Sacromonte neighborhood, where you can see a beautiful view of the Alhambra and just more beautiful and older buildings than the city center or where I live. We went to Parque de Garcia Lorca and walked along the river...I feel like we did everything! I was just trying to make sure she got a feel for what my life is like here. It was frustrating sometimes because there was so much I wanted to fit in and so little time, but we surely made the most of her time here in Granada.
And then the second leg of her trip=travel time, for both of us! On Thursday, we headed out of Granada on a Ryanair flight to Barcelona (Mom's first and probably last--she thought we were in trouble when the plane turned abruptly and everybody on the plane started screaming...yes this is a cheap airline if I've ever seen one!). Allison and her sister Jessica were already there and staying in the same hostel as us. The hostel was really nice and a really good price for the quality of it. We arrived at the bus station in Barcelona and the next objective was to locate the hostel. Which was difficult. We had a bunch of luggage, no map, some very vague directions, and no real sense of where we were. So Allison directed us in the right direction finally, and after we realized we must be lost, she told us we had passed the street. And how in the world did we pass the street!? Let me just tell you. You see, on our little journey we happened upon a gas station on a corner, in which Mom thought was the coolest thing in the world, and rambled on and on about how we should come back to take a picture because the gas station is so different than the US. We then moved on. When we went back to retrace our steps after Allison informed that we were lost, we saw the gas station once again, and realized, oh! that was where we were supposed to turn. So Mom named it "the station of our wayward wanderings." I couldn't have said it better, madre! We ended our long day with some delicious Indian food with Jessica and Allison and it was really fun chatting with the girls. I was glad Mom got to spend some time with Allison because she's my best friend here in Spain now! :)
Friday we had a whirlwind tour of Barcelona. Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in all of Europe, and I'm glad I'd already been there before so that we could execute a 7 hour tour of what I loved when I went with Court and Shan back in October. We went straight to the Sagrada Familia, because one can't visit Barcelona without seeing the strange, eclectic cathedral looming above the normalcy of the city. We didn't go inside though, because I learned last time that it was a total ripoff! After grabbing some Starbucks--it's been awhile--we walked all the way down to Park of the Citadel. We walked around the Park and headed to the Chocolate Museum-something I missed with the girls because it was closed when we were there. It was totally fun! Our entrance tickets were dark chocolate bars-score! We then headed through Park of the Citadel, which was absolutely stunning and filled with huge groups of kids on field trips, on our way to the beach. I just love Barcelona. It is so laid back, but such a huge city at the same time. I want to go back...maybe even live there? Who knows! Just before hitting the beach (without swimsuits or shorts because we weren't expecting the nearly 80 degree weather!) a man rode by us on a bicycle...COMPLETELY NAKED!! He was at least 50 years old, maybe even 60, and at first I thought he was wearing a speedo like every other European man at the beach, but no. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Naked man on bike, riding through Barcelona. Only in Europe, only in Europe.....it was totally halarious though, I will probably never forget that moment we were cracking up so much. We spent a few hours walking through the sand, went to lunch on the beach, and then this Asian woman asked if we wanted massages, so we got massages on the beach! Only 5 euro, which I thought was quite the deal! It was kind of awkward though because she whipped my shirt up and basically took my bra with it, so that was kinda.....well, awkward. But whatever. Then we finished our Barcelona circle by walking along the pier, scrambing up Las Ramblas (famous but in my opinion highly overrated street) and made our way back to the hostel to grab our luggage. Nearly cruise time! We grabbed the metro and soon enough were on the cruise.
Our Semana Santa week was a blast. I have a few things to say about the cruise.
1. I had a fabulous time.
2. The service we had at dinner was horrendous, we missed nearly every show on the boat because of that. The food wasn't very good either.
3. I met some awesome people, and our dinner table was a ton of fun, despite the terrible service. We sat with Kevin (studying in Barcelona, my age) and his mom Geri, Travis & Carol (the old newlyweds), Nyree and Katherine (The Aussie girls who work in the UK), and Jim (the FL travel agent cruisin solo)
4. Mom and I got a bit tipsy when we had XL Strawberry Daiquiris and drank them in the 30 minute "Bubble Lady" show. It was fun. PS. Who devotes their lives to creating bubble performances, really?
5. I had a huge crush on one of the guys who worked on the cruise. My hopes for an Italian wedding were crushed on 70's night when I saw him chatting with some tall, leggy Italian girls, dang.
6. My mother and I really cannot sleep in the same room. Our accomodations were fabulous (we paid for a room with no windows but ended up staying in a huge room with a balcony!) but we clearly have different sleeping needs. She is ALWAYS hot, so I had sweats and blankets on while we slept with the AC on...kill me!
7. The first night at the "buffet" that only served pizza, I spilled boiling hot pizza, which scalded my leg through my jeans, that was stressful.
8. The most fun night on the cruise was the group dance party, when Mom and I danced to YMCA, We Are Family, etc.....my mother and I also have very different dancing styles. And then she gets mad at me for laughing at her. :)
9. I had my first experience gambling. We both lost 10 euros. I can see how people get addicted to this.
10. This was the best possible way for us to see so many different parts of Europe in such a short period of time. Everyone else who had been on a cruise before, especially an American cruise, said this was the worst cruise they've ever been on. And yes, I will definitely go on an American cruise before I judge cruises. But, I have to say it was so worth it, and a total blast!
I have now decided lists are much easier and more fun for me to write. So now I will describe where we went/highlights.
Marseilles, France (Saturday, March 27):
1. We were total guiris (foreigners, in Spanish) and thought it was summer weather. It, in fact, was windy and freezing despite the presence of sunshine, so we were miserable in our shorts and dresses.
2. So, we spent 1.5 hours in H&M. I spent about $200, and promptly changed into/added some of the clothes I bought to further warm myself.
3. We went to lunch, visited a church, and tried not to be blown away.
4. Marseilles was not the best example of our travel skills.
Savona, Italy (Sunday, March 28):
1. Beautiful, beautiful place. I am in love with Italia, as usual.
2. In Savona we went to the cathedral and sort of attended mass, and for some reason I got all weepy because they were all singing and it was just really weirdly emotional. We also went to a street market and sampled lots of cheese and say a pig's head. Gross!
3. We completely one-upped our travel skills of the previous day and utilized our hand motion skills to communicate and hopped a public bus to a nearby town, Celle Ligure, where we further fell in love with Italy.
4. We consumed the most delicious gelato I have ever had. YUM.
5. Captured beautiful photographs and I just love how all the families were out and about that Sunday, enjoying the beach, playing soccer, eating, smiling, laughing....the place just really put us in a fabulous mood.
Naples, Italy (Monday, March 29):
1. Visited a castle. Castles, like churches, get boring after awhile. But we did see skeletons in the ruins of the castle!!!
2. I met the love of my life, the Italian man Giovanni, at a pastry shop in Naples. He told me, I quote, "Your eyes, they make me feel like I could fly...." and the sweetheart that I am, promptly replied, "You can't even see my eyes, I'm wearing sunglasses." No wonder I don't have a boyfriend. Anyways, I will be returning to Naples one day, expect to be flying far for my wedding people! He was so beautiful.
3. Here, I discovered that I am much either much prettier in Italy than in Spain, the men are whores, or Italian men are just reasonable people and don't expect their ladies to weigh 20 pounds. My mother and I got lots of attention, let's just say that.
4. I loved Naples. It was exciting and fast paced and beautiful all at the same time. A different vibe than Rome or Savona...unlike anything I've experienced.
5. We got to make our own pizza. Yes, in Naples, pizza capital of the planet, we happened into a little pizza/pasta place, and we thought it was closed but the employees told us to come in anyway. Then since we were the only customers we got to go back into the kitchen and make our own pizza! It was so cool!
Palermo, Sicily, Italy (Tuesday, March 30)
1. This was the craziest/dirtiest city I've been to in Italy. Maybe in the world.
2. When we were exploring, we somehow found ourselves in a plaza filled entirely with men. We were frightened, and then we left, not without being hounded by them. Why was there a plaza filled only with men? Creepy!!
3. I loved the Bavarro (I think) Market. It was really different than other markets I've been to. I could tell there was more poverty, and that these people were truly out here every day to survive. The life in the market was unlike anything I've ever seen, loud, colorful, stressful, kind of put me on edge but at the same time I loved it.
4. We walked very far to find the Catacombs. And they were so cool! Who would've known walking through underground hallways filled with dead bodies could be so cool.
5. A boy on a moto tried to come and capture me, I think he wanted me to stay in Italy with him. Uh-oh!
Tunis, Tunisia, AFRICA (Wednesday, March 31)
1. This marked Mom's and my 4th entry into a new continent: North America, Asia, Europe, Africa.
2. We were a little disappointed with the overall experience, for it being our first time in Africa. We paid for a tour through the cruise, and it was probably the best idea because of the time constraints, but it felt like we got ripped off and didn't see the authenticity of Tunis.
3. Mom thought our Tunisian tour guide, Morad, was rather attractive. We then determined that North African men in general are rather attractive.
4. At the carpet store, mom was pulled out of the crowd to sit on one of the carpets during the presentation. How does this always happen? Apparently my mom just looks like someone who wants to participate!
5. At our final stop (a shop to barter and buy some cool stuff) mom was offered like 200 camels for her hand in marriage, and I was chased down upon leaving by one of the sales guys, giving me his facebook info. Oh Africa.
Palma de Mallorca, Spain (Thursday, April 1)
1. Newsflash, Costa Cruises!: next time you plan a cruise, don't set aside 6 hours for AFRICA and 12 hours for a Spanish island, where there is nothing to do. Now that's just common sense!
2. We arrived at 2 pm. For those of you who aren't aware, Spain has siesta time from 2-5 pm, thus, nothing was open.
3. We were all pumped to go to the "Caves of the Dragon" with the people from our dinner table. It was one of the excursions through the cruise company but I figured we could go for cheaper on our own. I put half the group in a taxi, thinking the taxi driver said "uno setenta," like 1.70 per person. When we went to get in our cab, the English driver said it would be 70 euros each way, because the Caves were an hour away. So then I quickly had to run and stop the other taxi so that I didn't send my friends on an hour long drive with a nearly 200 euro taxi bill. So unfortunately we didn't get to go to the caves. I'm just glad my miscommunication didn't cost my friends a LOT of money.....
4. So instead we walked around, ate gelato, paella, and basically were bored. But it is a really beautiful place!
5. That night we paid for the excursion to go to this "Son Amar" show through the cruise, and it turned out to be amazing! It was like a Vegas show, Mom and I were having a total blast! The music was fabulous, the dancers were amazing, and there was this totally awesome magician. I was in heaven.
And that was our cruise. In reality, so much more happened, but it was a month ago, and I figure this is a pretty decent synopsis. I'm sure more stories will come up in the future. The truth is though, I had a blast spending so much time with my mom. Never in my life have I spent so much time with just her! And I was so fortunate that she got to go on a vacation, because she hasn't done that in years. Thanks so much to Dad & Lena, who made it possible. I'll never really be able to express my gratitude for sending Mom over here. After we returned from Barcelona, our last evening and day in Granada was relaxing. Mom tried (and loved) shawarma, and got to meet my Moroccan shawarma friend Morad. We spent all day Saturday shopping in a Granada that was so packed because of Semana Santa tourists. And I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty sad when she left. I absolutely despise saying goodbye. When I took her to the bus station, I was proud of her for going to Madrid on her own (braving the subway at 5 am in a huge metropolitan city where you don't know the language is scary) and sad to see her go. I definitely cried when she got on the bus, and again when the bus left, but then Allison came over and we chatted and I watched the Biggest Loser so life was all better.
Love you Mama!! and Dad & Lena love you so much, none of this would've happened without you. Everyone else, hope you enjoyed hearing about our adventures, it was 2 weeks I'll never forget! But now I need to do homework, but look for another blog soon!
Un beso,
MacKenzie
Hey, it's been awhile! I haven't written in over a month, and I have done so much since. I'm going to try to remember everything but we'll see. So Mom arrived to Spain about a month ago (can't believe so much time has passed since she was here!) I met her in Madrid, and we spent her first evening in Spain at dinner (eating raw fish-yikes!) and then exploring the area near our hotel. There wasn't much touristy stuff around, plus it was like 11 pm, so we just walked to the Plaza del Toros in Madrid, which I thought would be a nice starter for Mom's European experience. It was funny having Mom here, very refreshing actually. Because she really reminded me of just how different Europe is than home. I've been living here so long, and I've done so much traveling, that I am kind of getting to the point of realizing that people are people no matter where you go, and despite the differences in appearance and food and language, the world is really the same through and through. But Mom had never been to Europe, so she commented on everything, because everything she ate and saw and heard was completely brand new to her. The street signs. The street. The buildings. The windows. The lampposts. The gas stations. The cars. I could keep going. =) But it was really fun to start to be the tour guide for Mom's first adventure in Europe!
On Sunday, March 21st we tried to fit as much Madrid culture as we could into the day. Although we had a late night the night before, we were out of bed at 7:30 to get ready to explore. We had some difficulties though. We could NOT figure out how to get the shower to work!! Only the tub. So after trying to wash my hair under the faucet with no success, I took the first bath I've taken since I was like 6. And really, I think baths are kind of gross. Soaking in your own filth? Ick. Anyways. After we got all ready we took the metro over to the city center and visited a few museums. We went to the Reina Sofia Art Museum, which is really famous for contemporary art. I had already been there when I was in Madrid in August, and I didn't like it too much but since it was free on Sundays I wanted to show Mom Picasso's Guernica painting (super famous-look it up if you haven't seen it before). Then we went to the Prado Museum which has more traditional art and is one of the most famous art museums in the world for paintings. I loved the Prado in August, I loved it in March, and I hope to go back again someday. Mom enjoyed the Prado much more than Reina Sofia also. After our museum visits we were pretty tired from standing for so long so we hopped into a restaurant that seemed full of Spaniards (when in Europe-do not go to a restaurant unless you see people who live in that country dining there-it usually isn't good if there aren't) and Mom had her first paella! I was a little nervous because no paella amounts to the deliciousness of Marí Carmen's, but this was the best paella I have ever eaten in a restaurant. Score! Plus it was a huge meal for a real good price, which is hard to find when you're surrounded by tourist traps. Looks like I'm becoming less of a tourist maybe?? We hopped a bus to Granada and had a very long awkward ride in which Mom was sitting behind this nasty guy who had his seat leaned back and was snoring and making strange noises the whole time. Mom wanted to say something (naturally) but did not have the language capabilities, and I of course could not be assertive and say something myself. I need help. I really do.
Our time in Granada was absolutely amazing. I loved all the time we spent together during Semana Santa too, but my favorite part of Mom being here was getting to be the tour guide, showing her all around my city. I honestly feel like I have more of a relationship with this city than with Bellingham! I couldn't believe how many places I wanted to take Mom--the tourist places, all of my usual places, tapa bars, regular bars, my gym, etc. I would never have that many places to show anyone in Bellingham! The only crappy part about Mom visiting at that time was that it was midterm week, so I had to waste some of my time studying. But I guess that's why I'm in Spain at all....anyways. There wasn't anything wildly exciting about anything we did, but we spent our days exploring the city, and our nights wandering to tapas bars for dinner. Mom agrees with me that tapas are the best invention in the world, and we want to start a tapa bar someday! I can't say it isn't a serious goal, it would be amazing. Tuesday we made the hike up to the Alhambra so Mom would be able to say Granada's, and even Spain's, most famous landmark from the Muslim reign in Spain. She thought it to be pretty cool, as do most people who visit Granada. It's impressive. However, on the way up to the Alhambra Mom, not so surprisingly, tripped and twisted her ankle.....which didn't seem like a problem at the time but proved to be a significant hinder to her activities for the rest of the 2 weeks she was here! I always made fun of her (obviously) but I really did feel bad that that happened, because it was clear that she hurt herself and her ankle really bothered her the rest of the time. When I was in class Monday-Wednesday Mom usually read in the sun or I sent her to Cafe Futbol (where my friends and I get churros) or Hannigan's (the Irish pub by my school). She wanted to walk around a little, but not having a phone and Mom being slightly directionally challenged, I didn't think this was such a good idea, because I don't know what I would do if I lost my mother in Granada. So we walked around a ton together when I wasn't in class. One day we went to the Cathedral in Granada which was a cool experience because although I've seen 7,000 other cathedrals/churches in Europe, I hadn't been to the one in Granada and Mom had never been to one ever! It is huge, and I thought it was really cool for Mom to see. We also got to see something I didn't even know was in Granada! Next to the cathedral (though I think it's technically part of the same building) lie the remains of the Reyes Católicos (Catholic Kings) who threw out the Muslims and who sent Christofer Columbus off the the Americas in 1492. We actually got to go down into the crypt and see their coffins through a glass window! It was very cool, and I felt remotely lame I didn't even know that was there until now!
One quite hilarious event was when we went to the Flamenco show with the rest of API. We walked up to the Albaicin (which hurt mom's ankle, and her lungs, a bit) and everyone crammed into one of the refurbished caves that they use for flamenco shows. I loved it! Everyone last semester said it was kind of lame but I thought it was really cool, especially since we had been learning about it in my Spanish Civilization and Culture class. Oh, but the comical part. Well, at the end of the show one of the bailadores (dancers) grabbed mom's hand and pulled her up to dance with him. Out of all the people in the room, all the young college girls, he grabs the visiting American mother's hand. And she of course went for it and began to SHIMMY when the dancer guy began to shimmy. I do not think I have ever laughed SO hard in my entire life. It was so hysterical. And I thought I got it on video but the memory card was full so all I captured was about half of a shimmy! What a bummer. But a few of my friends got some good pictures. So that was memorable. Good times at flamenco!!
We walked A LOT. I recently learned that Mom lost 6 pounds on the trip, whereas of course I remain the same or gain weight. But we also determined this is because I do this all the time, and Mom doesn't really work out and came and got the workout of a lifetime with all that walking! But don't be fooled, we also did a lot of eating. I took her to Café Fútbol, Café Bar Playa, Feng Shui, Poë, and then we explored tons of new tapa bars that I hadn't been to before. One day in Granada we walked up to the Albaicin/Sacromonte neighborhood, where you can see a beautiful view of the Alhambra and just more beautiful and older buildings than the city center or where I live. We went to Parque de Garcia Lorca and walked along the river...I feel like we did everything! I was just trying to make sure she got a feel for what my life is like here. It was frustrating sometimes because there was so much I wanted to fit in and so little time, but we surely made the most of her time here in Granada.
And then the second leg of her trip=travel time, for both of us! On Thursday, we headed out of Granada on a Ryanair flight to Barcelona (Mom's first and probably last--she thought we were in trouble when the plane turned abruptly and everybody on the plane started screaming...yes this is a cheap airline if I've ever seen one!). Allison and her sister Jessica were already there and staying in the same hostel as us. The hostel was really nice and a really good price for the quality of it. We arrived at the bus station in Barcelona and the next objective was to locate the hostel. Which was difficult. We had a bunch of luggage, no map, some very vague directions, and no real sense of where we were. So Allison directed us in the right direction finally, and after we realized we must be lost, she told us we had passed the street. And how in the world did we pass the street!? Let me just tell you. You see, on our little journey we happened upon a gas station on a corner, in which Mom thought was the coolest thing in the world, and rambled on and on about how we should come back to take a picture because the gas station is so different than the US. We then moved on. When we went back to retrace our steps after Allison informed that we were lost, we saw the gas station once again, and realized, oh! that was where we were supposed to turn. So Mom named it "the station of our wayward wanderings." I couldn't have said it better, madre! We ended our long day with some delicious Indian food with Jessica and Allison and it was really fun chatting with the girls. I was glad Mom got to spend some time with Allison because she's my best friend here in Spain now! :)
Friday we had a whirlwind tour of Barcelona. Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in all of Europe, and I'm glad I'd already been there before so that we could execute a 7 hour tour of what I loved when I went with Court and Shan back in October. We went straight to the Sagrada Familia, because one can't visit Barcelona without seeing the strange, eclectic cathedral looming above the normalcy of the city. We didn't go inside though, because I learned last time that it was a total ripoff! After grabbing some Starbucks--it's been awhile--we walked all the way down to Park of the Citadel. We walked around the Park and headed to the Chocolate Museum-something I missed with the girls because it was closed when we were there. It was totally fun! Our entrance tickets were dark chocolate bars-score! We then headed through Park of the Citadel, which was absolutely stunning and filled with huge groups of kids on field trips, on our way to the beach. I just love Barcelona. It is so laid back, but such a huge city at the same time. I want to go back...maybe even live there? Who knows! Just before hitting the beach (without swimsuits or shorts because we weren't expecting the nearly 80 degree weather!) a man rode by us on a bicycle...COMPLETELY NAKED!! He was at least 50 years old, maybe even 60, and at first I thought he was wearing a speedo like every other European man at the beach, but no. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Naked man on bike, riding through Barcelona. Only in Europe, only in Europe.....it was totally halarious though, I will probably never forget that moment we were cracking up so much. We spent a few hours walking through the sand, went to lunch on the beach, and then this Asian woman asked if we wanted massages, so we got massages on the beach! Only 5 euro, which I thought was quite the deal! It was kind of awkward though because she whipped my shirt up and basically took my bra with it, so that was kinda.....well, awkward. But whatever. Then we finished our Barcelona circle by walking along the pier, scrambing up Las Ramblas (famous but in my opinion highly overrated street) and made our way back to the hostel to grab our luggage. Nearly cruise time! We grabbed the metro and soon enough were on the cruise.
Our Semana Santa week was a blast. I have a few things to say about the cruise.
1. I had a fabulous time.
2. The service we had at dinner was horrendous, we missed nearly every show on the boat because of that. The food wasn't very good either.
3. I met some awesome people, and our dinner table was a ton of fun, despite the terrible service. We sat with Kevin (studying in Barcelona, my age) and his mom Geri, Travis & Carol (the old newlyweds), Nyree and Katherine (The Aussie girls who work in the UK), and Jim (the FL travel agent cruisin solo)
4. Mom and I got a bit tipsy when we had XL Strawberry Daiquiris and drank them in the 30 minute "Bubble Lady" show. It was fun. PS. Who devotes their lives to creating bubble performances, really?
5. I had a huge crush on one of the guys who worked on the cruise. My hopes for an Italian wedding were crushed on 70's night when I saw him chatting with some tall, leggy Italian girls, dang.
6. My mother and I really cannot sleep in the same room. Our accomodations were fabulous (we paid for a room with no windows but ended up staying in a huge room with a balcony!) but we clearly have different sleeping needs. She is ALWAYS hot, so I had sweats and blankets on while we slept with the AC on...kill me!
7. The first night at the "buffet" that only served pizza, I spilled boiling hot pizza, which scalded my leg through my jeans, that was stressful.
8. The most fun night on the cruise was the group dance party, when Mom and I danced to YMCA, We Are Family, etc.....my mother and I also have very different dancing styles. And then she gets mad at me for laughing at her. :)
9. I had my first experience gambling. We both lost 10 euros. I can see how people get addicted to this.
10. This was the best possible way for us to see so many different parts of Europe in such a short period of time. Everyone else who had been on a cruise before, especially an American cruise, said this was the worst cruise they've ever been on. And yes, I will definitely go on an American cruise before I judge cruises. But, I have to say it was so worth it, and a total blast!
I have now decided lists are much easier and more fun for me to write. So now I will describe where we went/highlights.
Marseilles, France (Saturday, March 27):
1. We were total guiris (foreigners, in Spanish) and thought it was summer weather. It, in fact, was windy and freezing despite the presence of sunshine, so we were miserable in our shorts and dresses.
2. So, we spent 1.5 hours in H&M. I spent about $200, and promptly changed into/added some of the clothes I bought to further warm myself.
3. We went to lunch, visited a church, and tried not to be blown away.
4. Marseilles was not the best example of our travel skills.
Savona, Italy (Sunday, March 28):
1. Beautiful, beautiful place. I am in love with Italia, as usual.
2. In Savona we went to the cathedral and sort of attended mass, and for some reason I got all weepy because they were all singing and it was just really weirdly emotional. We also went to a street market and sampled lots of cheese and say a pig's head. Gross!
3. We completely one-upped our travel skills of the previous day and utilized our hand motion skills to communicate and hopped a public bus to a nearby town, Celle Ligure, where we further fell in love with Italy.
4. We consumed the most delicious gelato I have ever had. YUM.
5. Captured beautiful photographs and I just love how all the families were out and about that Sunday, enjoying the beach, playing soccer, eating, smiling, laughing....the place just really put us in a fabulous mood.
Naples, Italy (Monday, March 29):
1. Visited a castle. Castles, like churches, get boring after awhile. But we did see skeletons in the ruins of the castle!!!
2. I met the love of my life, the Italian man Giovanni, at a pastry shop in Naples. He told me, I quote, "Your eyes, they make me feel like I could fly...." and the sweetheart that I am, promptly replied, "You can't even see my eyes, I'm wearing sunglasses." No wonder I don't have a boyfriend. Anyways, I will be returning to Naples one day, expect to be flying far for my wedding people! He was so beautiful.
3. Here, I discovered that I am much either much prettier in Italy than in Spain, the men are whores, or Italian men are just reasonable people and don't expect their ladies to weigh 20 pounds. My mother and I got lots of attention, let's just say that.
4. I loved Naples. It was exciting and fast paced and beautiful all at the same time. A different vibe than Rome or Savona...unlike anything I've experienced.
5. We got to make our own pizza. Yes, in Naples, pizza capital of the planet, we happened into a little pizza/pasta place, and we thought it was closed but the employees told us to come in anyway. Then since we were the only customers we got to go back into the kitchen and make our own pizza! It was so cool!
Palermo, Sicily, Italy (Tuesday, March 30)
1. This was the craziest/dirtiest city I've been to in Italy. Maybe in the world.
2. When we were exploring, we somehow found ourselves in a plaza filled entirely with men. We were frightened, and then we left, not without being hounded by them. Why was there a plaza filled only with men? Creepy!!
3. I loved the Bavarro (I think) Market. It was really different than other markets I've been to. I could tell there was more poverty, and that these people were truly out here every day to survive. The life in the market was unlike anything I've ever seen, loud, colorful, stressful, kind of put me on edge but at the same time I loved it.
4. We walked very far to find the Catacombs. And they were so cool! Who would've known walking through underground hallways filled with dead bodies could be so cool.
5. A boy on a moto tried to come and capture me, I think he wanted me to stay in Italy with him. Uh-oh!
Tunis, Tunisia, AFRICA (Wednesday, March 31)
1. This marked Mom's and my 4th entry into a new continent: North America, Asia, Europe, Africa.
2. We were a little disappointed with the overall experience, for it being our first time in Africa. We paid for a tour through the cruise, and it was probably the best idea because of the time constraints, but it felt like we got ripped off and didn't see the authenticity of Tunis.
3. Mom thought our Tunisian tour guide, Morad, was rather attractive. We then determined that North African men in general are rather attractive.
4. At the carpet store, mom was pulled out of the crowd to sit on one of the carpets during the presentation. How does this always happen? Apparently my mom just looks like someone who wants to participate!
5. At our final stop (a shop to barter and buy some cool stuff) mom was offered like 200 camels for her hand in marriage, and I was chased down upon leaving by one of the sales guys, giving me his facebook info. Oh Africa.
Palma de Mallorca, Spain (Thursday, April 1)
1. Newsflash, Costa Cruises!: next time you plan a cruise, don't set aside 6 hours for AFRICA and 12 hours for a Spanish island, where there is nothing to do. Now that's just common sense!
2. We arrived at 2 pm. For those of you who aren't aware, Spain has siesta time from 2-5 pm, thus, nothing was open.
3. We were all pumped to go to the "Caves of the Dragon" with the people from our dinner table. It was one of the excursions through the cruise company but I figured we could go for cheaper on our own. I put half the group in a taxi, thinking the taxi driver said "uno setenta," like 1.70 per person. When we went to get in our cab, the English driver said it would be 70 euros each way, because the Caves were an hour away. So then I quickly had to run and stop the other taxi so that I didn't send my friends on an hour long drive with a nearly 200 euro taxi bill. So unfortunately we didn't get to go to the caves. I'm just glad my miscommunication didn't cost my friends a LOT of money.....
4. So instead we walked around, ate gelato, paella, and basically were bored. But it is a really beautiful place!
5. That night we paid for the excursion to go to this "Son Amar" show through the cruise, and it turned out to be amazing! It was like a Vegas show, Mom and I were having a total blast! The music was fabulous, the dancers were amazing, and there was this totally awesome magician. I was in heaven.
And that was our cruise. In reality, so much more happened, but it was a month ago, and I figure this is a pretty decent synopsis. I'm sure more stories will come up in the future. The truth is though, I had a blast spending so much time with my mom. Never in my life have I spent so much time with just her! And I was so fortunate that she got to go on a vacation, because she hasn't done that in years. Thanks so much to Dad & Lena, who made it possible. I'll never really be able to express my gratitude for sending Mom over here. After we returned from Barcelona, our last evening and day in Granada was relaxing. Mom tried (and loved) shawarma, and got to meet my Moroccan shawarma friend Morad. We spent all day Saturday shopping in a Granada that was so packed because of Semana Santa tourists. And I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty sad when she left. I absolutely despise saying goodbye. When I took her to the bus station, I was proud of her for going to Madrid on her own (braving the subway at 5 am in a huge metropolitan city where you don't know the language is scary) and sad to see her go. I definitely cried when she got on the bus, and again when the bus left, but then Allison came over and we chatted and I watched the Biggest Loser so life was all better.
Love you Mama!! and Dad & Lena love you so much, none of this would've happened without you. Everyone else, hope you enjoyed hearing about our adventures, it was 2 weeks I'll never forget! But now I need to do homework, but look for another blog soon!
Un beso,
MacKenzie
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