Well Im sitting in Heathrow airport waiting for our flight to Uganda which will be in 4 hours. I didn’t get too much sleep on the airplane here despite my taking advantage of the complementary glass of wine that was offered. But, because I left on Monday night, and arrived here Tuesday afternoon, and leave here Tuesday night and arrive Wednesday afternoon, if I sleep on the flight to Uganda I shouldn’t be hit too hard with jet lag, according to me. Lets hope it works out…. I need to start counting sheep early.
It was interesting leaving home, the hardest part knowing that I will be away from Alisa for so long as she sets out on her own adventure. But I know there is purpose behind everything and am feeling hopeful and encouraged. Leaving home reminds me of what Im leaving behind, and helps me to realize how incredibly blessed I am to have the friends, family and community I do. Im excited for the trip and glad to have a seasoned veteran traveling with me in Andrew.
As we got closer to the ground in London and you can start to see the ground, there is the familiar checkerboard green fields and other plots of land we are so used to seeing from above. However as the little boy sitting behind me looked out his window he kept saying ‘look mom there are so many soccer fields’. Of course I just smiled in the cuteness of his saying that, but it also got me thinking. Of course a rectangleishly shaped green plot of land bordered by either roads or trees looks like a soccer field to a little boy, because that’s all he knows to associate it with. It reminded me of the idea that we only are able to think and live with what is familiar to us. If he had experienced a flight before and been told that this is what the ground looks like from above, then he wouldn’t call them soccer fields.
As I travel to foreign places Id like to think I am arming myself with new ways to view and think about the world, about life. The more we familiarize ourselves with the foreign, and take the leap of faith to unfamiliar territory the more tools we have to view the world and the fewer ‘soccer fields’ there are in our life.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Thursday, April 30, 2009
So I guess I have to leave tomorrow....
I know Ive only been gone for 3 months, but it feels much longer than that. Its very strange to think that Ill be back on a plane tomorrow and flying to California. I cant wait to see my family and friends, and get my hands on a Cali burrito, some sushi and Del Taco. All of Europe has been the most exciting place in the world. There is always something going on, always something to see or do. I wasnt bored at all for the whole time Ive been here.
I know everyone is going to be asking me what my favourite cities are and stuff like that, so I have been thinking about that a lot lately. The places that I consider my favourite will be based a lot on my personal experience there for example, if I met nice people, stayed in a decent hostel, found some cool locals, and ect. I think I had the best experiences in Budapest, Dubrovnik, Ljublijana, Munich, Paris with Hammi, Florence, and Spain in general (which is strange because I wasnt even planning to hit Spain before I left).
I am so happy that I chose to travel alone, I have met so many good people and a couple of them I was blessed enough to get pretty close to and feel quite comfortable with. What I consider a good friend would be someone I can talk for hours with about things we both find interesting, but at the same time be able to sit in a quite room with for just as long and feel completely comfortable, no awkwardness thinking one of us has to speak sort of thing.. if you know what I mean. I guess I just appreciate silence every once in a while, and finding people that can appreciate that along with me is a cool thing. I actually have met a couple people that I had pretty emotional goodbyes with. Most of those people were Australian funny enough. I traveled with Sean for pretty long time, and we went through a lot of crazy stuff together. I met an Australian guy named Mark and we had a pretty emotional goodbye, nothing like a firm man hug that you know means a lot. It was that situation where we both have to leave, both go in opposite directions but had formed such a bond in such a short amount of time. It was pretty neat. He had a girlfriend traveling with him and they were such a cool couple. I really would love to have a companion like that to travel around the world with me. I met a girl that had been working abroad for 4 years and we got along so well had so many good conversations, but unfortunately she was 29 haha. One of these days I guess. I am not coming home married like some people joked would happen, but I did get pretty close lolz... Thats a good story. I guess just the fact that I was traveling alone and got to meet so many people was one of the best experiences of the trip. I havent been alone for a while, meeting new people all the time, and it just working out that you spend the entire time with them.
I learned a lot and got to see so much, but I am not coming home 'a completely different person'. Just a more experienced one I guess. Traveling like this is a great way to get out of some bad habits, which I didnt think about too much. Having no cell phone, no computer is a relieving experience. Making plans to meet people at a certain land mark at a certain time, and just hoping things work out is awesome. I would think I would have anxiety in those situations because I have no way to communicate and find out if they will still be there or any other complications that may arise. I think of myself as a pretty laid back kind of person, I am good at going with the flow. I think I am even more so now because I have adopted the attitude of not worrying about any sort of deadline, or timetable in regards to certain things. Of course I was always punctual and think I am even more so now after getting used to catching trains at certain times and meeting people at certain times, checking out on time, waking up on time are all pretty important when traveling.
I have learned some important things on this trip. Maybe learned is not the right word and 'realized' would be more specific. I will not compromise my values or morals for any one, or anything. I dont and wont succumb to pressure of societies thoughts of what I should be, what I should do. However I will always continue to look upwards, look for ways to do better and be a better person. I am so thankful for the pleasures and joys I have experienced on this trip and the pleasures and joys I have not yet experienced in this life. I have learned to take advantage of the opportunities I am presented with. However, I will remain a skeptic. I dont give away my trust too easily. Its hard sometimes to speak your mind, but I have learned to continue to do so as much as I can. I have learned to put myself in vulnerable situations more often, no matter how uncomfortable I think they might be. Life is a giant risk. Most importantly, I will keep trying to understand Gods plan for me. This trip has taken my faith to another level and for that I am grateful.
Im going to fly into LAX and spend some time at home home, and then make my way down to San Diego. Take some tests for grad school applications. Do some research on studying abroad maybe. Do some reasearch on jobs I can do as well. Ill also be taking a trip to San Francisco pretty soon to see all my friends up there. I really want to keep traveling, I want to visit Australia, and Argentina. Maybe do an Egypt Greece Turkey Israel kind of trip, of course that is probably a little ways off since Im going to need a job first. Love you all.
Ciao
-Kyle
I know everyone is going to be asking me what my favourite cities are and stuff like that, so I have been thinking about that a lot lately. The places that I consider my favourite will be based a lot on my personal experience there for example, if I met nice people, stayed in a decent hostel, found some cool locals, and ect. I think I had the best experiences in Budapest, Dubrovnik, Ljublijana, Munich, Paris with Hammi, Florence, and Spain in general (which is strange because I wasnt even planning to hit Spain before I left).
I am so happy that I chose to travel alone, I have met so many good people and a couple of them I was blessed enough to get pretty close to and feel quite comfortable with. What I consider a good friend would be someone I can talk for hours with about things we both find interesting, but at the same time be able to sit in a quite room with for just as long and feel completely comfortable, no awkwardness thinking one of us has to speak sort of thing.. if you know what I mean. I guess I just appreciate silence every once in a while, and finding people that can appreciate that along with me is a cool thing. I actually have met a couple people that I had pretty emotional goodbyes with. Most of those people were Australian funny enough. I traveled with Sean for pretty long time, and we went through a lot of crazy stuff together. I met an Australian guy named Mark and we had a pretty emotional goodbye, nothing like a firm man hug that you know means a lot. It was that situation where we both have to leave, both go in opposite directions but had formed such a bond in such a short amount of time. It was pretty neat. He had a girlfriend traveling with him and they were such a cool couple. I really would love to have a companion like that to travel around the world with me. I met a girl that had been working abroad for 4 years and we got along so well had so many good conversations, but unfortunately she was 29 haha. One of these days I guess. I am not coming home married like some people joked would happen, but I did get pretty close lolz... Thats a good story. I guess just the fact that I was traveling alone and got to meet so many people was one of the best experiences of the trip. I havent been alone for a while, meeting new people all the time, and it just working out that you spend the entire time with them.
I learned a lot and got to see so much, but I am not coming home 'a completely different person'. Just a more experienced one I guess. Traveling like this is a great way to get out of some bad habits, which I didnt think about too much. Having no cell phone, no computer is a relieving experience. Making plans to meet people at a certain land mark at a certain time, and just hoping things work out is awesome. I would think I would have anxiety in those situations because I have no way to communicate and find out if they will still be there or any other complications that may arise. I think of myself as a pretty laid back kind of person, I am good at going with the flow. I think I am even more so now because I have adopted the attitude of not worrying about any sort of deadline, or timetable in regards to certain things. Of course I was always punctual and think I am even more so now after getting used to catching trains at certain times and meeting people at certain times, checking out on time, waking up on time are all pretty important when traveling.
I have learned some important things on this trip. Maybe learned is not the right word and 'realized' would be more specific. I will not compromise my values or morals for any one, or anything. I dont and wont succumb to pressure of societies thoughts of what I should be, what I should do. However I will always continue to look upwards, look for ways to do better and be a better person. I am so thankful for the pleasures and joys I have experienced on this trip and the pleasures and joys I have not yet experienced in this life. I have learned to take advantage of the opportunities I am presented with. However, I will remain a skeptic. I dont give away my trust too easily. Its hard sometimes to speak your mind, but I have learned to continue to do so as much as I can. I have learned to put myself in vulnerable situations more often, no matter how uncomfortable I think they might be. Life is a giant risk. Most importantly, I will keep trying to understand Gods plan for me. This trip has taken my faith to another level and for that I am grateful.
Im going to fly into LAX and spend some time at home home, and then make my way down to San Diego. Take some tests for grad school applications. Do some research on studying abroad maybe. Do some reasearch on jobs I can do as well. Ill also be taking a trip to San Francisco pretty soon to see all my friends up there. I really want to keep traveling, I want to visit Australia, and Argentina. Maybe do an Egypt Greece Turkey Israel kind of trip, of course that is probably a little ways off since Im going to need a job first. Love you all.
Ciao
-Kyle
San Sebastian Paris London
I ended up staying in San Sebastian for a little while longer that I had originally intended, which was awesome. This would have been a normal thing to do if the weather was good, but it rained every single day that I was there. We did get a couple breaks for sun, and just enough time to run to the beach and hang out for a couple hours, but thats about it. I pretty much sat around all day and talked with the people in the hostel, and it was perfect.
I made some of the best friends of my trip in San Sebastian. In particular there was an Australian couple who had been together for about 5 years. Couples are usually hard to hang out with for whatever reason but they were much different. Lots of good company, good laughter, and good conversation in San Sebastian. I met another Australian couple and ended up traveling with them to Paris and spending a couple days with them.
Visiting Paris and London again was pretty cool because I felt like I knew the place. I was very comfortable and had a good time there. However because they were my first couple of cities I dont think I got to know them as well as I did other places, so I got to do a lot of new stuff as well.
I might treat myself to the Lion King musical before I leave tomorrow, just because I love the Lion King and its supposed to be pretty cool. I was thinking about the 3 movies that I have watched the most in my lifetime and came up with The Lion King, The Rock, and Independence Day. I started busting up laughing when I thought of that, its a pretty random list, but awesome at the same time. I am living above a pub in London because it was the cheapest place I could find, but got lucky that there are some cool people staying there as well. At midnight the pub closes to the public and the hostel guests are the only ones allowed in and there is a nintendo wii, which is pretty cool. It is starting to sink in that I have to leave tomorrow which is a weird feeling.
I made some of the best friends of my trip in San Sebastian. In particular there was an Australian couple who had been together for about 5 years. Couples are usually hard to hang out with for whatever reason but they were much different. Lots of good company, good laughter, and good conversation in San Sebastian. I met another Australian couple and ended up traveling with them to Paris and spending a couple days with them.
Visiting Paris and London again was pretty cool because I felt like I knew the place. I was very comfortable and had a good time there. However because they were my first couple of cities I dont think I got to know them as well as I did other places, so I got to do a lot of new stuff as well.
I might treat myself to the Lion King musical before I leave tomorrow, just because I love the Lion King and its supposed to be pretty cool. I was thinking about the 3 movies that I have watched the most in my lifetime and came up with The Lion King, The Rock, and Independence Day. I started busting up laughing when I thought of that, its a pretty random list, but awesome at the same time. I am living above a pub in London because it was the cheapest place I could find, but got lucky that there are some cool people staying there as well. At midnight the pub closes to the public and the hostel guests are the only ones allowed in and there is a nintendo wii, which is pretty cool. It is starting to sink in that I have to leave tomorrow which is a weird feeling.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Finishing Madrid - On to San Sebastian
I met some really cool people in Madrid, once again. It is amazing how in pretty much every place I stop I am able to find some really genuine people to hang out with, enjoy conversation with, and just get to know pretty well during our few days together. Putting myself out there and getting to know complete strangers is something I would hardly ever do before I left on this trip. Its pretty cool. I have really appreciated not having a computer or phone for this long as well, and considering how much I am on the computer at home, its pretty incredible.
Anyway thanks to a few recommendations from a friend of mine I found some cool places to hang out at in Madrid. I took my new friends there and they all enjoyed them as well. One of the people I was spending time with works 6 months of the year as a tour guide taking people all throughout Europe on busses. The more we talked about it the more it sounded like a great opportunity and it is something that I am thinking about applying for, and since she has worked for the company for 4 years Im sure that her recommendation would get me the job. We´ll see how that works out though, because I am not sure if I want to do that right now. The next opening would be a year and a half from now anyway.
I am still not sure what I want to do when I get home, in terms of school, work, traveling, etc. but I do have a lot more options going through my head, which is good. I think it would be awesome to move somewhere exciting and just get a job doing who knows what. I think I was too concentrated on looking for something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life before I left. Its a pretty American idea to start your career right after you finish school. Not saying that is a bad thing. I got a new book called ¨Whats so great about America¨ which is by, who is becoming my favourite author, Dinesh Dsouza. He is the guy that wrote ¨Whats so great about Christianity¨which I loved so much. This book is just as good and just as easy to read, Ill probably finish it quite soon. Especially considering the train rides I have coming up. San Sebastian took 5.5 hours, to Paris will take about 8 (hopefully at night) and to London will take 3 on the super fast train. During the flight I think Ill get up to date on all the movies I havent seen. Its weird not watching TV or a movie for this long.
San Sebastian is a nice city. Small enough to walk everywhere. The weather today was unfortunately not beach worthy, so instead I went on a hike to the castle of San Sebastian where there is a giant statue of Jesus that they have in the middle of the city, above the castle, on a mountain. It was pretty cool. This whole part of the country is really cool. Really green, lots of hills, some mountains, there is ocean, it rains a good amount, its sunny and warm usually.. all together its pretty neat.
Apparently San Sebastian has more bars and restaurants per square meter than any other city in the world. They have some of the best rated restaurants in the world as well. I think there are 2 Michelin 3 star restaurants here which is incredible. I looked at the menu and I could get a 12 course meal for 140 Euros including wine paired with each dish. Maybe one day.
The pintxos which are tapas in the Basque region are amazing. By far the best Ive had. I got here last night and just wandered around the old town looking for places that were crowded, would have a tiny beer and a pintxo and move on. They charge you by the pintxo and they are usually about 2-3 euros each. All of them are delicious.
So it looks like Im just going to chill in San Sebastian a couple more days and then go back to Paris. There are a couple more hikes I can do here, but Im hoping for some beach weather.
CIAO
-Kyle
Anyway thanks to a few recommendations from a friend of mine I found some cool places to hang out at in Madrid. I took my new friends there and they all enjoyed them as well. One of the people I was spending time with works 6 months of the year as a tour guide taking people all throughout Europe on busses. The more we talked about it the more it sounded like a great opportunity and it is something that I am thinking about applying for, and since she has worked for the company for 4 years Im sure that her recommendation would get me the job. We´ll see how that works out though, because I am not sure if I want to do that right now. The next opening would be a year and a half from now anyway.
I am still not sure what I want to do when I get home, in terms of school, work, traveling, etc. but I do have a lot more options going through my head, which is good. I think it would be awesome to move somewhere exciting and just get a job doing who knows what. I think I was too concentrated on looking for something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life before I left. Its a pretty American idea to start your career right after you finish school. Not saying that is a bad thing. I got a new book called ¨Whats so great about America¨ which is by, who is becoming my favourite author, Dinesh Dsouza. He is the guy that wrote ¨Whats so great about Christianity¨which I loved so much. This book is just as good and just as easy to read, Ill probably finish it quite soon. Especially considering the train rides I have coming up. San Sebastian took 5.5 hours, to Paris will take about 8 (hopefully at night) and to London will take 3 on the super fast train. During the flight I think Ill get up to date on all the movies I havent seen. Its weird not watching TV or a movie for this long.
San Sebastian is a nice city. Small enough to walk everywhere. The weather today was unfortunately not beach worthy, so instead I went on a hike to the castle of San Sebastian where there is a giant statue of Jesus that they have in the middle of the city, above the castle, on a mountain. It was pretty cool. This whole part of the country is really cool. Really green, lots of hills, some mountains, there is ocean, it rains a good amount, its sunny and warm usually.. all together its pretty neat.
Apparently San Sebastian has more bars and restaurants per square meter than any other city in the world. They have some of the best rated restaurants in the world as well. I think there are 2 Michelin 3 star restaurants here which is incredible. I looked at the menu and I could get a 12 course meal for 140 Euros including wine paired with each dish. Maybe one day.
The pintxos which are tapas in the Basque region are amazing. By far the best Ive had. I got here last night and just wandered around the old town looking for places that were crowded, would have a tiny beer and a pintxo and move on. They charge you by the pintxo and they are usually about 2-3 euros each. All of them are delicious.
So it looks like Im just going to chill in San Sebastian a couple more days and then go back to Paris. There are a couple more hikes I can do here, but Im hoping for some beach weather.
CIAO
-Kyle
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Madrid
When I first arrived in Madrid I thought I was in LA. It just seemed really dirty and full of seedy people. Fortunately I was just in the bad part of town and this wasnt how the actual city was.
The keyboard realyl sucks on this computer.
Madrid is a really big city, and since I am all about walkign and not taking the metro whenever possible, I h ave been getting a ton of road work in. Looking at my shoes ,they look terrible. They will barely make it through this trip in one piece. Hopefully. I have had great weather in Madrid so far and am actually getting a tan. It will be funny to come home with a tan I think. I am going to San Sebastian next, which is a beautiful surf town from what Ive heard. Bryce I know youre jealous. After that Ill really have a tan.
Madrid is full of nice streets, good people, good food, nice parks, and some nice monuments and museums. I found myself getti ng lost in the almost too big Museo de Prado. There is also a massive central park type area that I spent a nice afternoon in. The chorizo (not the mexican kind) is a delicious spicy sausage that I have been eating a lot of. The meat in Madrid i ssome of the best quality in the world, from what Ive tried and heard. There is even a museum of jamon (ham). I have been getting good at makign lunch while on a budget. I have been having nice unches of sandwiches with cheese and meat, a couple pieces of fruit, and a fruit juice drink, which is essentially a mix of fruit juice water milk and sugar. Sounds gross but its good and gives me all my vitamins.
There is a nEgyptian temple on a hill overlooking most of the city , so it has lots of good views. Its a really cool part of town and the story behin dthe temple is very cool. It was a gift from the Egyptians to the Spanish for helping them divert some flood waters and move some temples out of the way of a flood in Egypt. So the Egyptians gave them a temple of their own, its quite nice.
I have been doing lots of cool things that my friend who lived in Madrid for a year has told me about. There is a tapas bar in general where you go there and order a cana (small beer) for about a euro and then they bring you mounds and mounds of greasy delicious tapas. After the first cana im stuffed and after the second I couldnt possibly eat any more. The place is always packed and its really easy to meet and talk to people there. My Spanish is not as bad as I t hought it was, and I can actually undestand a lot and hold a conversation with most people. I can ask for directions and order food a swell... pretty cool , but I think its one of those things Im going to want to perfect when I get home.
Iwandered into the Cathedral on sunday and randomly got there in time for the fiesta de la misericordia, which is a pretty big deal in Madrid and I had no idea about before. From what I understood, since it was all in Spanish, its celebrated on the 9th day after Jesus was put on the cross to symbolize the 9 hours of misery. At least I think that is what wa sgoing on. There was standing room only in the Cathedral and I got to see the senior cardinal or something. It was pretty cool.
I had the best meal of my life the other night. I walked past a restraunt one night and saw that they were roasting pigs, and the place was p acked, so I made a reservation for the next night. I decided to splurge and go for the Cochonillo Asado, something I really wanted to do in Spain. So I show up to the place in my ´rock star clothes´which my friends have started to call them, and am escorted to a table in the middle o fthe place and surrounded by people wearing suits. It was a cool feeling to be eating alone in a restraunt like this and knowing that everyone was looking at you. I got the cochinillo asado which is a tiny baby pigthat has only been fed the milk of its mother, which is then taken and shoved onto a spike and roasted on a fire for hours while the chef dumps sauces on it to make the skin ncie and crispy. I also ordered a half bottle of a tempranillo from rioja in spain from 2004. Baisically my favourite wine. So I look like a baller to everyone in the place, the suckling pig is amazing, its meat is some of the most tender Ive ever had, like biting butter. The flavour is amazing. The crispy skin is i cing on the cake. There is a nice layer of fat between the meat and the skin which is also exceptional. I was chewing all the meat off the little baby pig ribs. I ate the cheek meat which was delicious. I had a couple pig organs. I ordered extra pan just to soak up the 100% fat juice that the cochinillo was served with. There was not one p iece remaining of the poor little guy. I could make this description beter but I seriously hat e this keyboard right now and am running out of time o nthe internet.
Ciao.
The keyboard realyl sucks on this computer.
Madrid is a really big city, and since I am all about walkign and not taking the metro whenever possible, I h ave been getting a ton of road work in. Looking at my shoes ,they look terrible. They will barely make it through this trip in one piece. Hopefully. I have had great weather in Madrid so far and am actually getting a tan. It will be funny to come home with a tan I think. I am going to San Sebastian next, which is a beautiful surf town from what Ive heard. Bryce I know youre jealous. After that Ill really have a tan.
Madrid is full of nice streets, good people, good food, nice parks, and some nice monuments and museums. I found myself getti ng lost in the almost too big Museo de Prado. There is also a massive central park type area that I spent a nice afternoon in. The chorizo (not the mexican kind) is a delicious spicy sausage that I have been eating a lot of. The meat in Madrid i ssome of the best quality in the world, from what Ive tried and heard. There is even a museum of jamon (ham). I have been getting good at makign lunch while on a budget. I have been having nice unches of sandwiches with cheese and meat, a couple pieces of fruit, and a fruit juice drink, which is essentially a mix of fruit juice water milk and sugar. Sounds gross but its good and gives me all my vitamins.
There is a nEgyptian temple on a hill overlooking most of the city , so it has lots of good views. Its a really cool part of town and the story behin dthe temple is very cool. It was a gift from the Egyptians to the Spanish for helping them divert some flood waters and move some temples out of the way of a flood in Egypt. So the Egyptians gave them a temple of their own, its quite nice.
I have been doing lots of cool things that my friend who lived in Madrid for a year has told me about. There is a tapas bar in general where you go there and order a cana (small beer) for about a euro and then they bring you mounds and mounds of greasy delicious tapas. After the first cana im stuffed and after the second I couldnt possibly eat any more. The place is always packed and its really easy to meet and talk to people there. My Spanish is not as bad as I t hought it was, and I can actually undestand a lot and hold a conversation with most people. I can ask for directions and order food a swell... pretty cool , but I think its one of those things Im going to want to perfect when I get home.
Iwandered into the Cathedral on sunday and randomly got there in time for the fiesta de la misericordia, which is a pretty big deal in Madrid and I had no idea about before. From what I understood, since it was all in Spanish, its celebrated on the 9th day after Jesus was put on the cross to symbolize the 9 hours of misery. At least I think that is what wa sgoing on. There was standing room only in the Cathedral and I got to see the senior cardinal or something. It was pretty cool.
I had the best meal of my life the other night. I walked past a restraunt one night and saw that they were roasting pigs, and the place was p acked, so I made a reservation for the next night. I decided to splurge and go for the Cochonillo Asado, something I really wanted to do in Spain. So I show up to the place in my ´rock star clothes´which my friends have started to call them, and am escorted to a table in the middle o fthe place and surrounded by people wearing suits. It was a cool feeling to be eating alone in a restraunt like this and knowing that everyone was looking at you. I got the cochinillo asado which is a tiny baby pigthat has only been fed the milk of its mother, which is then taken and shoved onto a spike and roasted on a fire for hours while the chef dumps sauces on it to make the skin ncie and crispy. I also ordered a half bottle of a tempranillo from rioja in spain from 2004. Baisically my favourite wine. So I look like a baller to everyone in the place, the suckling pig is amazing, its meat is some of the most tender Ive ever had, like biting butter. The flavour is amazing. The crispy skin is i cing on the cake. There is a nice layer of fat between the meat and the skin which is also exceptional. I was chewing all the meat off the little baby pig ribs. I ate the cheek meat which was delicious. I had a couple pig organs. I ordered extra pan just to soak up the 100% fat juice that the cochinillo was served with. There was not one p iece remaining of the poor little guy. I could make this description beter but I seriously hat e this keyboard right now and am running out of time o nthe internet.
Ciao.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Valencia
Valencia is the most laid back town Ive been in so far. There is no rush whatsoever, especially after coming from Barcelona which is always busy. The first thing I did when I got here was had a nice glass of the best horchata Ive ever had while sitting in the shade and just relaxing. Valencia is also quite affordable compared to the other places Ive been that use the Euro.
Paella was invented here and you can definately tell. They cook it with chicken and rabbit instead of using seafood and it is really delicious... much better than the Barca version. I attended a class and learned how to cook it along with mixing up some nice sangria.
Valencia has a lot of older influence and it blends well with the more modern parts of town. There is a dryed up river bed that runs through the city and Valencia has turned it into a public garden full of fountains and flowers and green trees. It is a great place to go for a walk or hang out with friends or ride a bike etc. It is also convenient because you can follow it to the ocean and the city of arts and sciences.
The city of arts and sciences is the museumish area that is home to some really spectacular looking modern buildings as well as the largest aquarium in Europe. I went to the aquarium and was really happy I did. It is nice to take a break from looking at art and churches and touristy stuff to look at fish and sharks and dolphin shows. Of course I would have rather been there with someone else, and there was no one there my age for their own enjoyment, but I had a good time regardless. The Cathedral here claims to have the official Holy Grail, which I doubt because it is covered in jewels and stuff, which I dont think is how the real one would look.
For breakfast most people get chocolate con churros. Once you have had the hot chocolate in Spain you wont be able to have it anywhere else. I dont think they add any water or milk to the chocolate, it is quite literally just heated up chocolate, which means it is quite thick. Perfect for dipping a churro into, but not my ideal breakfast. I cant handle that much sugar in the morning. My favourite breakfasts so far are the German ones. The hostel Im staying at is quite cheap and also has a fully equipped kitchen so I can buy groceries and not spend so much money on food. I have been loving the tapas bars accompanied with the Aqua de Valencia which is spanish champaign, cointrau and fresh squeezed Valencian orange juice.
Siestas are actually practiced in Valencia and most of the shops are closed from noon-4. Its pretty cool. I still want to go see a bull fight while in Spain just to experience some more culture but I think that will wait until Madrid. Ill probably end up spending another day or two in Valencia, especially if its beach weather and then head to Madrid. I have a ticket from Paris to London for the 28th of April which I got for suuuuper cheap, and then I fly home from London on May 1st. Weird to think about.
Paella was invented here and you can definately tell. They cook it with chicken and rabbit instead of using seafood and it is really delicious... much better than the Barca version. I attended a class and learned how to cook it along with mixing up some nice sangria.
Valencia has a lot of older influence and it blends well with the more modern parts of town. There is a dryed up river bed that runs through the city and Valencia has turned it into a public garden full of fountains and flowers and green trees. It is a great place to go for a walk or hang out with friends or ride a bike etc. It is also convenient because you can follow it to the ocean and the city of arts and sciences.
The city of arts and sciences is the museumish area that is home to some really spectacular looking modern buildings as well as the largest aquarium in Europe. I went to the aquarium and was really happy I did. It is nice to take a break from looking at art and churches and touristy stuff to look at fish and sharks and dolphin shows. Of course I would have rather been there with someone else, and there was no one there my age for their own enjoyment, but I had a good time regardless. The Cathedral here claims to have the official Holy Grail, which I doubt because it is covered in jewels and stuff, which I dont think is how the real one would look.
For breakfast most people get chocolate con churros. Once you have had the hot chocolate in Spain you wont be able to have it anywhere else. I dont think they add any water or milk to the chocolate, it is quite literally just heated up chocolate, which means it is quite thick. Perfect for dipping a churro into, but not my ideal breakfast. I cant handle that much sugar in the morning. My favourite breakfasts so far are the German ones. The hostel Im staying at is quite cheap and also has a fully equipped kitchen so I can buy groceries and not spend so much money on food. I have been loving the tapas bars accompanied with the Aqua de Valencia which is spanish champaign, cointrau and fresh squeezed Valencian orange juice.
Siestas are actually practiced in Valencia and most of the shops are closed from noon-4. Its pretty cool. I still want to go see a bull fight while in Spain just to experience some more culture but I think that will wait until Madrid. Ill probably end up spending another day or two in Valencia, especially if its beach weather and then head to Madrid. I have a ticket from Paris to London for the 28th of April which I got for suuuuper cheap, and then I fly home from London on May 1st. Weird to think about.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Finishing Barca
I stayed in Barcelona for quite a while because a lot of the friends I have met on my travels were coming here this last week. I got to see a few people that I have become friends with, and also ran into a few people that I had barely met while in other cities. Barca must just be a huge tourist destination... which unfortunately is its down side. My first few nights I was staying in the really popular and touristic part of town pretty much on La Rambla street, which is the most famous street in Barcelona. You can not walk outside there at night without being asked to buy drugs, being potentially pickpocketed, or being mobbed by prostitutes. You learn to stay away from all Moroccans and all African girls because apparently all of them are seedy people that lack all morals. They come up to you and grab you and surround you looking for opportunities to steal from you, its really disturbing. The police are all very corrupt and dont do anything about whats going on there. I had a run in with the police but am ok. Thats all the details you need about that. They really take Barcelona down a notch, because without these particular characteristics it would be one of the best towns in the world.
I eventually moved away from the seedy area and to where more of the local stuff was, and it was a great decision. The beach was so close and I wasnt hasseled at all while I was there. The city is the most beautiful one I have visited on my travels. It is like walking through a museum. It has the best architecture and the best parks and fountains, it has some cool churches and museums, the weather was great and there are lots of palm trees. The city itself has about 3 miles of sandy beach which was nice to enjoy. One day I was lying on the sand and a girl ran over to me and pulled me off my towel. At first I was wondering what was going on and then she pointed to the sand, and there was a spider about 4 INCHES long climbing into my shoe, of course was shocked and everyone around me jumped up and started looking at the ground. Then some Indian guy came and killed it and threw it away. I dont know if it was poisonous or not but it was huge. The girl that got my attention brought her stuff over to where I was lying down and we bought some beers from the Indian guy (there are Indian guys everywhere carrying around 6 packs of beer selling them for 1 euro, you cant go more than 10 seconds without one of them walking by and hearing ¨cervesa, cold beer¨) and we enjoyed the rest of the day together, which is how I got sunburned.
I got to see my good friend Sean that I traveled through Eastern Europe with. He is going to Nice to work on a cherry farm for a few months, a job that I was offered as well. That would be a really cool experience. Sean went to the Barcelona game also but had a really good seat, and we were pretty pumped still so we were singing all the Barca songs together which was pretty funny. Baisically we were just up to our usual antics which you can learn about later.
I have not been eating that well in Barca for the most part. I had a day where I ate nothing but chinese food, and I also had my first burrito in a while. It was good but it doesnt compare to Albertacos cali burritos. I did however find one of the best things Ive eated on this trip. There is a place that I found that is only open for lunch and only open on the weekends. What they do is roast chickens on a rotisary(spelling?) thing and drench them in a marinade every so often while they roast. The chicken itself is amazing but what made the meal is this: The chicken juices drip down and form a bit of a pool on the bottom of the oven, which is heated. That juice burns off and sits there for a bit, and the guy roasting the chickens throws a ton of garlic into that juice on the bottom and then a bunch of cut up potatos on top of that and mixes it all together. So you have these amazing roasted garlic potato bits that are cooked in the juice that is dripping off the chicken. It really is delicious. The sangria in Barca was also good, but its really hard to not have good sangria. I am really craving sushi and a real burrito.
The beds in my last hostel were by far the worst. It was like sleeping on a wooden plank. They creeked a ton and the hostel doesnt provide blankets for free, so I was sleeping in all my clothes to keep warm instead of paying 5 euros or whatever for a blanket. Everything is so expensive that uses the Euro, its really sad, California is going to seem really cheap compared to most of the places Ive been.
The coffee in Spain sucks, but I think that it is because I am just coming from Italy where I had the best coffee ever and it was only a euro or less, where as in Spain I am getting worse coffee for about 3 euros.
I found an English speaking non denominational church in Barcelona for Easter, and afterwards I was invited to a wedding, which was cool. You are asked to stand up and introduce yourself if you are new there, and through that got to meet some good people. It was nice to have fellowship once again.
My last few days in Barcelona were spent with a group of 5 French people who were a lot of fun and I really enjoyed their company. Fortunately Im in Valencia now and I love it here. Ill make a post about Valencia tomorrow I suppose. I have 2 weeks left in Europa and that seems like nothing, the time really few by. Time to organize my thoughts and get back to reality. I think Im going to get back home, see my parents for a bit and then get down to San Diego. Take some tests to apply for grad school while looking for a job. I really like the idea of going back to school at this point though.
Adios ?¿?¿?
-Kyle
I eventually moved away from the seedy area and to where more of the local stuff was, and it was a great decision. The beach was so close and I wasnt hasseled at all while I was there. The city is the most beautiful one I have visited on my travels. It is like walking through a museum. It has the best architecture and the best parks and fountains, it has some cool churches and museums, the weather was great and there are lots of palm trees. The city itself has about 3 miles of sandy beach which was nice to enjoy. One day I was lying on the sand and a girl ran over to me and pulled me off my towel. At first I was wondering what was going on and then she pointed to the sand, and there was a spider about 4 INCHES long climbing into my shoe, of course was shocked and everyone around me jumped up and started looking at the ground. Then some Indian guy came and killed it and threw it away. I dont know if it was poisonous or not but it was huge. The girl that got my attention brought her stuff over to where I was lying down and we bought some beers from the Indian guy (there are Indian guys everywhere carrying around 6 packs of beer selling them for 1 euro, you cant go more than 10 seconds without one of them walking by and hearing ¨cervesa, cold beer¨) and we enjoyed the rest of the day together, which is how I got sunburned.
I got to see my good friend Sean that I traveled through Eastern Europe with. He is going to Nice to work on a cherry farm for a few months, a job that I was offered as well. That would be a really cool experience. Sean went to the Barcelona game also but had a really good seat, and we were pretty pumped still so we were singing all the Barca songs together which was pretty funny. Baisically we were just up to our usual antics which you can learn about later.
I have not been eating that well in Barca for the most part. I had a day where I ate nothing but chinese food, and I also had my first burrito in a while. It was good but it doesnt compare to Albertacos cali burritos. I did however find one of the best things Ive eated on this trip. There is a place that I found that is only open for lunch and only open on the weekends. What they do is roast chickens on a rotisary(spelling?) thing and drench them in a marinade every so often while they roast. The chicken itself is amazing but what made the meal is this: The chicken juices drip down and form a bit of a pool on the bottom of the oven, which is heated. That juice burns off and sits there for a bit, and the guy roasting the chickens throws a ton of garlic into that juice on the bottom and then a bunch of cut up potatos on top of that and mixes it all together. So you have these amazing roasted garlic potato bits that are cooked in the juice that is dripping off the chicken. It really is delicious. The sangria in Barca was also good, but its really hard to not have good sangria. I am really craving sushi and a real burrito.
The beds in my last hostel were by far the worst. It was like sleeping on a wooden plank. They creeked a ton and the hostel doesnt provide blankets for free, so I was sleeping in all my clothes to keep warm instead of paying 5 euros or whatever for a blanket. Everything is so expensive that uses the Euro, its really sad, California is going to seem really cheap compared to most of the places Ive been.
The coffee in Spain sucks, but I think that it is because I am just coming from Italy where I had the best coffee ever and it was only a euro or less, where as in Spain I am getting worse coffee for about 3 euros.
I found an English speaking non denominational church in Barcelona for Easter, and afterwards I was invited to a wedding, which was cool. You are asked to stand up and introduce yourself if you are new there, and through that got to meet some good people. It was nice to have fellowship once again.
My last few days in Barcelona were spent with a group of 5 French people who were a lot of fun and I really enjoyed their company. Fortunately Im in Valencia now and I love it here. Ill make a post about Valencia tomorrow I suppose. I have 2 weeks left in Europa and that seems like nothing, the time really few by. Time to organize my thoughts and get back to reality. I think Im going to get back home, see my parents for a bit and then get down to San Diego. Take some tests to apply for grad school while looking for a job. I really like the idea of going back to school at this point though.
Adios ?¿?¿?
-Kyle
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