The rest of the time with the Idoates was magical. We were so blessed by being able to stay with them and get to know their wonderful family! Their daughter lives accross the street with 3 young kids that we just fell in love with. Poppi took us all around the little villages in the quaint rolling green hills. He showed us the house he was born in and took us to a convent where the nuns are not allowed to step outside the walls of the church. It was an incredible experience to see their simple and beautiful way of life!
They took us to their church and after grandpa bought all the kids patatas (potatoe chips) we all went for the day to San Sebastian. It is a little coastal town in the north of Spain. We walked the main strip along the ocean watching the sunset and riding the merry go round with the kids!
Because our eurail passes got stollen, we had to find the cheapest way to travel. The cheapest way to get to Zurich, Switzerland was to fly from Barcelona.... so we got on another bus and went to that horrible station that we have come regretably familiar with. We arrived in Switzerland where Mr Vandermeer picked us up! The Vandermeers are family friends of the Krzymowski (they were missionaries together in Equador years ago). We showed up at the house to a warm meal (alp macaroni) and swiss chocolates on our pillows!! We met their two sons, Fabian (who had just returned home to weeks ago from a year in Australia) and Sevrin, his younger brother who didn't speak much English, but still impressed us with his amazing break dancing skills!
We spent the rest of the evening on the trampoline (i thought of you, mo and canny) busting moves and getting put to shame by the triple flips we were being challenged with! The next morning Katrin (mrs. Vandermeer) took us into Zurich. We went to the main church and climbed the tower that overlooked the whole city. The river running through was spottless. They are not joking when they say Swiss people are very invironmentally friendly! The river flowing from lake Zurich through this huge city, and it was clear to the point that you could see the stones on the bottom!! We walked all around the town while she told us the history of Switzerland... about their christian origin and foundation. It is so fun being able to see a place with people that know it!
We sat in the World's richest square for a while. It is considered the richest plaza because it is surrounded by all the swiss banks and there are huge vaults under the plaza. Lots of rich people have accounts in Switzerland originally because of their honest system, also because they are independent and generally safe because of their neutrality (Katrin told us all of this). We then went to the all womens swimming hole that is right in the center of Zurich on the river. Back in the day that had swimming areas separated for men and women and just decided to keep it that way!! IT was so fun- they just had a square floating dock and the water from the river just rushed under it!! so doing laps in the pool was quite the challenge with the current and all!!
That night we hiked near their house to a restuarant on the top of a big hill that overlooks the Alps. We sat and ate traditional swiss meals as the setting sun cast an orange, red glow on the white-capped mountains!
We woke up early the next morning, had breakfast with Katrin, and then the four of us drove about an hour and a half to get to Grosser Mythen. We got out captivated by the rolling green hills speckled with swiss cows and the mountain jetting up from behind! The sound of the cow bells echoing only added to the magical scenery. There was a family climbing it the same time we were and they had a little, what looked like a 4 year old with them...we came to the conclusion that Swiss 4 year olds have the strength of American 30 year olds!
We had a picnic on top beneath a waving swiss flag- swiss chocolate for dessert of course!! The view was astounding. surrounded by white-capped peaks against a magnificently blue sky. The lake below was encased by the most vivid green hills that stood at the base of jagged the mountains!!
We reluctantly said goodbye to the Vandermeers the next morning and took the bus to the train station, only to realize that there was no way to get out of Switzerland by train for less that 250 swiss francs (which is about equal to the dollar). The train system in Switzerland is so good- their trains are so nice and reliable, but rediculously expensive. We stood at the station discussing our options, knowing full well that that train was not one of them. We tried everything...offered our police report as evidence that we did in fact get our eurails stollen from us.... nothing. So we decided to find internet to research any possible way to get out of Switzerland without having to starve to afford it. The ticket people at the train station assured us that there was no internet around, so we had no choice but to go back to the Vandermeers. The bus ride to their house was spent practicing what we were going to say when they open the door and we are standing there packs and all. IT was pretty embarrassing, but we had no where else to go.
We spent the next 5 hours in their computer room calling whoever we could to get out of Switzerland. We looked on airlines, trainstaions all over Switzerland, we looked into buses, rental cars... EVERYTHING! We must have called 60 sum phone numbers (at least enough to run out of money on all 3 of our skype accounts plus some from the home phone) at one point Jenny unknowingly was on with a charter bus rental company and got offered a special deal on a limo- we considered it for a half second through our tears of laughter. Our nerves and patients were running thin when Hope had been transfered like 4 times to differnt train station and departments and had been quoted like 5 different prices for the same ticket. someone was about to transfer her again, and she insisted that there must be something he could do for her... she demanded... "who am i speaking with?" -boldly... a long pause,,, and then she sheepishly said "oh... this number is for if you want a job...ok... thank you." I have been so blessed to travel with girls that have fun in the most stressful of situations! We finally found a ticket to the swiss border that we could then get on a german train... which were much cheaper.
So we went back to the train station and went to Interlaken, Switzerland through Lucern. The train ride was unbelievable, weaving in and out of the mountains. Lakes and waterfalls.Churches whose steeples mimiced the jagged point of the mountains beyond. We arrived in the evening to pouring rain!! We splashed our way to our hostel!! IT was so fun! We were starved and found a pizza place that was open... thank goodness!
The next morning we woke up and walked to the market for breakfast- We bought yogurt... i was severely dissapointed to open it and find that it was plain, so i went back into the store to try and find the cheapest honey i could... i found some (it was a huge bottle for really cheap, and it tasted horrible) i realized like 10 minutes later that i could have just bought another flavor of yogurt for cheaper than the honey... and now we had a massive bottle of nasty honey!! oh well.
We walked back to the hostel... getting more and more excited... WE WERE GOING SKYDIVING!! the people picked us up, took us to the loading point- gave us literally a 2 minute instructional lesson on a patch of grass, suited us up in our criminal looking orange jump suits and took us away! Only 2 could go up in the helicopter at a time, so we drew pens... i got the blue one which meant i was diving with Damien, an Australian guy that was just as excited as i was. The two of us and our tandem divers rode up to the helicopter pad and got in. Beat (yes, Beat is the name of the man strapped to my back!) strapped me into his lap and off we went! My legs were hanging out of the helicopter and i thought i was going to die from frost bite it was so cold. We flew around for about 15 minutes over the Alps before we actually jumped. I can't describe what I saw in that short flight. It was absolutely unbelievable. Astounding beauty!! I was blessed by the opportunity to see such beauty!
Then it came time to jump. Damien went first- we shook hands and out he fell- it was so surreal to just see two bodies just fall out of an airplane... not but 2 seconds after they dissappeared from sight, Beat was nudging me, sliding me foreward. He instructed me to stand on the helicopters leg. I stood up and rolled backwards out of the helicopter!! It was phenominal. I cant describe the feeling! 45 second free fall from 14,000 feet. I remember my first conscious breath and how loud it was...!! It was unbelievable. Looking around during the free fall blew me away! I WAS FLYING THROUGH THE AIR OVER THE SWISS ALPS!! The lakes below surrounded by the mountains... i don't even know... it was just awesome!! I still cant believe we got to do it!
After the 45 seconds, the chute opened (good news) and Beat handed me the controls. We flipped around and spun...the 6 minutes ride to the bottom when way to fast! I landed, hugged and thanked Beat for keeping me alive and ran to meet the girls who were screaming!! They were next!
Watching them fall was unbelievable... You can barely see the plance when they actually jump. It is even hard to find them when their chutes first opened and that was after they had been free falling for 45 seconds!! I watched their specks grow until they landed safely and ran to hug me!! It was a crazy experience that i will cherish!
The next day we took the train to Koln Germany... The cheapest we could find (which meant the we had to change 11 times- 11 trains in one day!!) Running to make connections- it was totally worth it, and we were well used to running for trains by now!!
We arrived in Odendorf at 1 am, where Kai, Barbaras youngest son (the only one we hadnt met picked us up at the station and took us home) Barbara insisted on making us food... she made 3 pizzas!! We chatted about KAis adventure is Australia (he just got back from traveling himself) while hope and i threw slices on eachothers plates while Barbara wasn't watching... we were so full, we couldnt eat anymore, and she always insists that we eat more!! She is wonderful!
The next morning we went to a classic car festival in Reinbach, a naboring village- we all rode bikes and watched the petti coat competition. it was hilarious, your stereotypical small town fair competition. All these women running around on stage in their 60s attire so proud to be on stage!! It was so fun to watch. We ended in Reinbach with our favorite gellato shop, where they shape the ice cream like meals... we got spaghetti! We rode back for a BBQ at their house! Barbara, Hope, Jen, and I danced around the living room to San Fransico- so fun!
The next day we went for a 55 km bike ride to Bonn! The scenery was awesome- we rode along the Rhine river and took a ferry accross it! It was pouring rain the majority of the time, but we didn't care- it was so much fun! It made me really appreciate riding... maybe one day i will bike accross germany! We went to the Haribo (gummy worm factory) in Bonn, where we sampled all of the different type of candy... not quite sure if that was ok by Haribo's standards, or by Barbaras... non the less, noone stopped us!! We then got back on the bikes and rode to the Birkenstock factory! It was amazing!! We took the bikes on a train back! We ended the night with playing cards and watching one of Barbara's favorite movies that was in German, with subtitles in French (real helpful) Kai translated every word... haha!! and when he would miss a sentence Barbara would scold!! I fell asleep... anyone surprised?!?
The next morning after a quick stop at the glass store in Reinbach, we took a train to PAris. We showed up at Helens house in the evening just in time for dinner (hellen in another family friend of the Kryzmowski's and Barbara) I didn't eat because i was pretty sick and tired, but the girls assured me that i didn't miss much with the duck liver paste that they could barely choak down!!
The next day we rode the train to the Eiffel tower... where our journey began. We started and ended our trip on the lawn of that tower! We sat and talked... remembering all the hilarious memories and crazy adventures that we had. I am so blessed by the experience that i had and the relationships that were deepend!!
We flew out of PAris the next day (we barely made the train to the airport... the ticket guy had to run out and wave to the conductor to hold the train...typical (we had to, it was only consistent with the rest of our trip)- Hope flew to London in the morning, and jenny and spent the rest of the time before our flight getting tax back and running from bombs.
There was a bomb threat!! Our plane was delayed by 3 and a half hours. There was unnattended lugage outside of our gate and so the teams came in and were yelling in French for us to get back. We scoped out a American guy who was taking charge and telling all those to back up! Jenny and i followed him, because if anyone was getting out of there alive, it was that guy and his wife! We spent the next 3 hours getting to know him- a chemistry teacher and ex-pilot- BINGO!! if worse came to worse, he could fly us home... though we were about ready to take a boat to america...! We met a couple older women who told us they had food, we kept them around!! We finally got on the plane where jenny and i settled in to watch the worst movie, we have ever seen in our entire lives (carolina... avoid it at all costs)- though that may not be too difficult. i would not be that surprise if Air India is the only Airline on earth that would play it! That and the Indian dancer Hellen who entertained us for 6 hours straight on the way over there! After the chicken curry, jen and i slept a bit... I stayed the night in Newark, NJ and Jenny continued on to New Mexico. Parting ways was really hard.
I took a flight the next morning to Denver, where my mom and dad picked me up. I am home now and enjoying time with the family... Europe was amazing... a blessing beyond words!
I have finally posted pictures on facebook... sorry i didn't do it throughout the trip! I hope you all have had awesome summers and I cant wait to see you each again!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
The adventure continues...
ok, so when i said that the rest of Spain and Switzerland were going to be just as crazy as the weeks past... i din´t know then that in 2 hours everything would change...
We went straight from the internet cafe to the train station, which by the way is not pleasant... don´t remember if I wrote about that before, but avoid BARCELONA train station at ALL COSTS... it is impossible to get out! We were sitting applying aftersun lotion to our burnt bodies, when a woman approached us and asked if we spoke english... then she asked us for directions for the metro- she was in and out of spanish and french, so im not sure why that first question was relevant, but anyways, we kept pointing in the direction of the metro, but she kept pointing behind her as if she was confused. We gave up and said, sorry, we don´t really know- so she left.
About 20 minutes later we realized my purse was missing. I ran around the station...looking in every place we had been in the last hour. The lockers, the bathroom, everywhere, when it dawned on me that someone had stollen it when all of our attention was on that lady... now that we think about it...we kept pointing in the direction of the metro, which also happened to be in the same direction where my bag was sitting, and that is why she kept pointing behind her.
We sat stunned for a little bit, not quite sure of what to do. We went to the security officers in the area and they said they were closed... so we sat and discussed our next move. My purse not only had my camera full of pictures over the past couple weeks, my ipod, my portable silverear (quite valuable believe it or not), anti itch cream, my bible, pens (which are hard to come by), train timetable, chapstick, electricity converter, and my passport, i was carrying all three of our eurail passes. (eurail passes are basically our transportation around Europe, without them we don´t go anywhere without paying A TON of money) We were planning on catching an 11 pm bus to pamplona. It being 10 45 and the tickets being in my stollen purse, it wasnt looking like that was an option.
The last week has been a bit difficult, all of us wearing thin. Minimal sleep, mean people, travel difficulties had us all frustrated and tired... this was it though...my breaking point. I finally allowed myself to let down and cry. Siutting in a little circle on the train benches, shocked at what had happened, a man interrupted us with this question ¨do you speak english?¨ We all looked around half joking that it was happening to us agian. Jenny turned to me...i watched her face go from joking to absolute shock, i turned to Hope who was turned around towards a man hunched over the seat next to her, her purse in hand.
Hope grabbed the purse and ripped it, quite forcefully, out of the man´s hands. She looked over at me, almost confused and started to say ´¨That man almost stole my...¨ I interuppted her with a öh hell no¨... black woman style, and then proceeded to slap my hands loudly in his face and yell ¨come here¨almost inviting a fight. I ran after him and got pretty far, but stopped dead in my tracks when he turned around. In that instant i came to the realization that i was chasing a criminal. I didn´t know that I had it in me. I really shocked myself the way that i reacted. The man who had distracted us, joined his friend and sarcastically blew us kisses. Jenny responded by yelling ¨kisses, huh? yeah, well kiss my ass¨
We realize now how rediculous we must have looked. I, a stupid blonde american girl, was chasing a spanish criminal and yelling at him to come back while her friend in the background was yelling for them to kiss her ass... real threatening!!!
Hope was for sure the most collected of the three of us, and she was the only one who actually accomplished anything... she ripped the purse out of his hands...
We sat laughing hysterically that it had almost happened to us again... those guys had no idea what we had been through, and what we were willing to do to protect our other bags...haha!
Oh, and there were two security guards who were standing there watching this whole second interaction going on and didnt´do anything. They walked away like 3 american girls hadn´t just about made justice themselves on two spanish criminals.
We decided the next best step was to contact the police, so we walked to the nearest police station.. which wasn´t that near. The lady said that they couldn´t do anything tonight, but that i should come back first thing in the morning to file a report (good thing we were in spain when all of this happened... people here don´t speak a word of english...it is very good practice)
It was 2 by this time, and we had no where to stay, so slept outside the train station (when i say slept, i mean for about 22 minutes. the rest was sitting staring at the homeless men snoring next to us, or the one shuffling around in circles.)
The next morning we ¨woke up¨and walked to the police station to file the report... then walked what felt like miles to the american embassy. We were never so happy to see an american flag and a clean waterfountain. We walked in and were greeted by the most friendly americans i have ever met!! I LOVE america!!!
They were so kind and so quick- i had an emergency passport within the hour... i sure was looking foreward to the next one having a good picture... instead i got one of me wet with sweat, tear stained and running on 22 minutes of sleep... oh well!!!
WE made it back just in time to catch the bus to Pamplona...FINALLY!! (only after we stopped at our new favorite restaurant... the owner gave us free french fries, because we were practically regulars... 3 meals a day for the past 2 days!!)
The bus ride was slightly less than pleasant...all of us looking foreward to catching up on some sleep, until some well- rested american students decided to start a running game of a very enthusiastic and loud card game!!-
Jenny and I were about ready to create a sleepers union offering presidency to the guy in the chair directly next to them... noticing his equal frustration. WE laughed a lot about the fact that they were shamelessly OWNING the bus at this point... loud americans? pretty accurate steriotype....generally there is no one guiltier than i!!
Señora, y Señor Idoate (family friends of the Hardaways) picked us up from the bus station and immediately we were ok. mommi and poppi were there (they insist that we refer to them by these names!!) They don´t speak a word of English... NOT A WORD!! IT has been really fun getting to know them and translating for the girls... though jenny knows spanish pretty well and hope is learning very fast!!
They immediately took us out for dinner in the crazy city of Pamplona (fiesta de san fermin- running of the bulls) Mommi told us of how she couldn´t sleep at all the night before, she was so worried about us. Her next question was... do you have dirty clothes!!??? haha!!
I don´t think we have had a clean t shirt in about 3 weeks!!! They took us back to the house after i threw up in the mens restroom- sitting on a floor covered in urine (the girls was closed and it was comin fast)... 45 minute drive home and we were in paradise.
WE walked in. flowers in the entry- warm wood floors, hot chocolate and cookies. The most amazing beds we have slept in yet!!! cant explain what a relief it was to be safe and feel like we could sleep easy!! We slept in and walked out onto the porch in the morning. we hadn´t seen the scenery the night before because it was dark. The old house is placed by the most beautiful little river. Looking just past the river are rolling vibrantly green hills full of sheep and cows. It is like a dream!! In the afternoon, Poppi took us the all the little pueblos in the valley (there are 14) they are out of a storybook and this place is climbing the europe favorites... for sure top 5- Ignacio...mommi and poppis son (friends of the hardaways)wasnt lying when he said its the best place on earch... ancient stone walls covered with ivy and bursts of flowers!! the grass is so green and the water so clear!! words cant describe this place...or how much we needed it!!!
We had the biggest meal of our lives... hot chicken with peppers... pasta with bacon, bread, salad, yogurt and fruit with walnuts... it was incredible... safety, full stomachs, clean clothes, and warm beds... something we hadn´t had in a while!! We took full advantage of the traditional siesta!!!
We went to the running of the bulls this morning in Pamplona... they are not joking when they say it is a drunken festival... it is crazy... everyone is drunk, no one has slept in days and they are running away from bulls!! It was really fun to watch and i am glad that we have the three of us together... the spanish fascination with american girls gets a bit old, but we now know that we have it in us to fight to the death!!! We are returning this afternoon to mommi and poppis safe paradise!!
We went straight from the internet cafe to the train station, which by the way is not pleasant... don´t remember if I wrote about that before, but avoid BARCELONA train station at ALL COSTS... it is impossible to get out! We were sitting applying aftersun lotion to our burnt bodies, when a woman approached us and asked if we spoke english... then she asked us for directions for the metro- she was in and out of spanish and french, so im not sure why that first question was relevant, but anyways, we kept pointing in the direction of the metro, but she kept pointing behind her as if she was confused. We gave up and said, sorry, we don´t really know- so she left.
About 20 minutes later we realized my purse was missing. I ran around the station...looking in every place we had been in the last hour. The lockers, the bathroom, everywhere, when it dawned on me that someone had stollen it when all of our attention was on that lady... now that we think about it...we kept pointing in the direction of the metro, which also happened to be in the same direction where my bag was sitting, and that is why she kept pointing behind her.
We sat stunned for a little bit, not quite sure of what to do. We went to the security officers in the area and they said they were closed... so we sat and discussed our next move. My purse not only had my camera full of pictures over the past couple weeks, my ipod, my portable silverear (quite valuable believe it or not), anti itch cream, my bible, pens (which are hard to come by), train timetable, chapstick, electricity converter, and my passport, i was carrying all three of our eurail passes. (eurail passes are basically our transportation around Europe, without them we don´t go anywhere without paying A TON of money) We were planning on catching an 11 pm bus to pamplona. It being 10 45 and the tickets being in my stollen purse, it wasnt looking like that was an option.
The last week has been a bit difficult, all of us wearing thin. Minimal sleep, mean people, travel difficulties had us all frustrated and tired... this was it though...my breaking point. I finally allowed myself to let down and cry. Siutting in a little circle on the train benches, shocked at what had happened, a man interrupted us with this question ¨do you speak english?¨ We all looked around half joking that it was happening to us agian. Jenny turned to me...i watched her face go from joking to absolute shock, i turned to Hope who was turned around towards a man hunched over the seat next to her, her purse in hand.
Hope grabbed the purse and ripped it, quite forcefully, out of the man´s hands. She looked over at me, almost confused and started to say ´¨That man almost stole my...¨ I interuppted her with a öh hell no¨... black woman style, and then proceeded to slap my hands loudly in his face and yell ¨come here¨almost inviting a fight. I ran after him and got pretty far, but stopped dead in my tracks when he turned around. In that instant i came to the realization that i was chasing a criminal. I didn´t know that I had it in me. I really shocked myself the way that i reacted. The man who had distracted us, joined his friend and sarcastically blew us kisses. Jenny responded by yelling ¨kisses, huh? yeah, well kiss my ass¨
We realize now how rediculous we must have looked. I, a stupid blonde american girl, was chasing a spanish criminal and yelling at him to come back while her friend in the background was yelling for them to kiss her ass... real threatening!!!
Hope was for sure the most collected of the three of us, and she was the only one who actually accomplished anything... she ripped the purse out of his hands...
We sat laughing hysterically that it had almost happened to us again... those guys had no idea what we had been through, and what we were willing to do to protect our other bags...haha!
Oh, and there were two security guards who were standing there watching this whole second interaction going on and didnt´do anything. They walked away like 3 american girls hadn´t just about made justice themselves on two spanish criminals.
We decided the next best step was to contact the police, so we walked to the nearest police station.. which wasn´t that near. The lady said that they couldn´t do anything tonight, but that i should come back first thing in the morning to file a report (good thing we were in spain when all of this happened... people here don´t speak a word of english...it is very good practice)
It was 2 by this time, and we had no where to stay, so slept outside the train station (when i say slept, i mean for about 22 minutes. the rest was sitting staring at the homeless men snoring next to us, or the one shuffling around in circles.)
The next morning we ¨woke up¨and walked to the police station to file the report... then walked what felt like miles to the american embassy. We were never so happy to see an american flag and a clean waterfountain. We walked in and were greeted by the most friendly americans i have ever met!! I LOVE america!!!
They were so kind and so quick- i had an emergency passport within the hour... i sure was looking foreward to the next one having a good picture... instead i got one of me wet with sweat, tear stained and running on 22 minutes of sleep... oh well!!!
WE made it back just in time to catch the bus to Pamplona...FINALLY!! (only after we stopped at our new favorite restaurant... the owner gave us free french fries, because we were practically regulars... 3 meals a day for the past 2 days!!)
The bus ride was slightly less than pleasant...all of us looking foreward to catching up on some sleep, until some well- rested american students decided to start a running game of a very enthusiastic and loud card game!!-
Jenny and I were about ready to create a sleepers union offering presidency to the guy in the chair directly next to them... noticing his equal frustration. WE laughed a lot about the fact that they were shamelessly OWNING the bus at this point... loud americans? pretty accurate steriotype....generally there is no one guiltier than i!!
Señora, y Señor Idoate (family friends of the Hardaways) picked us up from the bus station and immediately we were ok. mommi and poppi were there (they insist that we refer to them by these names!!) They don´t speak a word of English... NOT A WORD!! IT has been really fun getting to know them and translating for the girls... though jenny knows spanish pretty well and hope is learning very fast!!
They immediately took us out for dinner in the crazy city of Pamplona (fiesta de san fermin- running of the bulls) Mommi told us of how she couldn´t sleep at all the night before, she was so worried about us. Her next question was... do you have dirty clothes!!??? haha!!
I don´t think we have had a clean t shirt in about 3 weeks!!! They took us back to the house after i threw up in the mens restroom- sitting on a floor covered in urine (the girls was closed and it was comin fast)... 45 minute drive home and we were in paradise.
WE walked in. flowers in the entry- warm wood floors, hot chocolate and cookies. The most amazing beds we have slept in yet!!! cant explain what a relief it was to be safe and feel like we could sleep easy!! We slept in and walked out onto the porch in the morning. we hadn´t seen the scenery the night before because it was dark. The old house is placed by the most beautiful little river. Looking just past the river are rolling vibrantly green hills full of sheep and cows. It is like a dream!! In the afternoon, Poppi took us the all the little pueblos in the valley (there are 14) they are out of a storybook and this place is climbing the europe favorites... for sure top 5- Ignacio...mommi and poppis son (friends of the hardaways)wasnt lying when he said its the best place on earch... ancient stone walls covered with ivy and bursts of flowers!! the grass is so green and the water so clear!! words cant describe this place...or how much we needed it!!!
We had the biggest meal of our lives... hot chicken with peppers... pasta with bacon, bread, salad, yogurt and fruit with walnuts... it was incredible... safety, full stomachs, clean clothes, and warm beds... something we hadn´t had in a while!! We took full advantage of the traditional siesta!!!
We went to the running of the bulls this morning in Pamplona... they are not joking when they say it is a drunken festival... it is crazy... everyone is drunk, no one has slept in days and they are running away from bulls!! It was really fun to watch and i am glad that we have the three of us together... the spanish fascination with american girls gets a bit old, but we now know that we have it in us to fight to the death!!! We are returning this afternoon to mommi and poppis safe paradise!!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
ITALY and Spain
ok, so about the experience in Athens,...
Our ferry back from Ios to Athens was slightly less than comftorable. We got stuck on the smokers deck and you would think that wouldn´t be a problem considering you are in the middle of an ocean that is just flowing with fresh air... but the glass protective windows did a phenominal (that ones for you leenis) job at keeping all of that out and all of the stagnant smokey air in! we spent about 8 hours of inhaling regurgitated smoke... excellent. oh also, there was nowhere to sit, so we slept on the metal floor!! we laughed it off as we have all of our lowpoints only to arrive at the next, creepier one!!
We got off the ferry tired and swollen with smoke and were approached by a cab driver that somehow talked us into getting into his cab and going to a hotel, that i am actually very surprised actually exists. It was in an extremely sketch neighborhood (dad, close your ears...we are fine!) . The taxi driver walked us into this place that i think had been vacant for some years and translated for us that we needed a room to a lady that didn´t speak a word of english... not a single word of english. she gave us our key and jenny and i took the lift up (you know the kind where you close the door and then watch the wall slide past as you go up-only room for 2- hope took the stairs!!) and walked to our room that was stagnant with stale smokey air... haha! just our luck. She said something while pointing at the Air conditioner... 20 minutes later after trying to get it to work, we figured she had said that it was broken. Shortly after that came a knock at the door!
The lady walked in and asked us for ¨the other key¨ via body language of course... it took a while, but we finally got it accross to her that she had only given us one key... she thought for a moment and then looked like she may have come to a sudden realization. She signaled that the taxi driver must have snuck the other room key in his pocket... she shrugged as if to say öh well¨ and left the room. We sat there in silence just staring at each other absolutely shocked at the situation we were in... we packed our packs against the door...created as many obsticles as we could. pulled the pepper spray out and stayed awake for a good while before we allowed ourselves to doze off... one thing i have learned about myself on this trip is that i don´t wake up for ANYTHING... alarms, loud people... we were a bit afraid that it would remain true for people breaking and entering, so we thought we would give me as much time and noise as we could so that i could be alert should that taxi driver decide to use that key that he stole and enter our room. at one point (aparently...i was told this in the morning, i didn´t wake up- of course) the girls heard something were straight up in bed, pepper spray in hand, and light on in no time at all!!
We made it though the night and left as early as we possibly could... pretty scary experience...glad to say its behind us!! that may explain the earlier comment about Athens.
Moving on... we got escorted out of the Vatican by security!!
Thats right, less than a week after getting kicked out of the parthenon, we got escorted out of the Vatican... we accidentally left through a door that should have a huge sign above it ÿou cant return if you go out this door¨ and had to go all the way around only to be told that we had to buy another ticket... we put up a bit of a fight that ended in security taking us out of there... no worries we went calmly and enjoyed a nice meal at a chinese restaurant just up the way!!
One thing i have learned is that Europeans love to say impossible¨ - even if it is unaplicable if they don´t want you to do something or they don´t allow it, they say impossible... its getting a little old...
Next we headed to Sienna for the Polio...It was absolutely incredible. The Polio is a famous horse race in Sienna Italy. The city itself is gorgeous...very old it is walled an almost entirely brick and stone! It is divided up into 14 sections of the city...10 of which compete in the race... there is so much history behind each one- rivals and allies!! anyways, it is held in the town center which is tiny. It is a ring surrounded by buildings- a clock tower, homes, restaurants. It is huge- almost bigger than soccer to these people. I loved it because it wasn´t a tourist attraction. The center was packed to the brim with locals who were so invested in a particular horse. The actual race is three times around this tiny little ring- takes a total of about 2 minutes. We stood to keep our spot by the fence for a good 5 hours and it was absolutely worth it. The teams of doctors and paramedics setting up raised our anticipation a bit. Because the ring is so small often times the horses slip around the corners and they have been know to jump into the crowd. Before the race began there was a huge parade with the horse and the jockie... the sections of town would follow their horse all the way through!! IT was so exciting.. the porkypine won!! the celebration was huge- fights broke out, people charged the horse screaming and crying!! INSANE! the section of town that wins gets to fly their flag in Sienna the rest of their year until the next Polio!! I am so glad we got to go!
Next we headed for the Chinque Terre which is the 5 cities on the western Italian Coast that you can hike. It was gorgeous. WE stayed in Riomaggore, the first of the five and enjoyed just wandering around and exploring the first night.
We spent the 4th of July hiking the cities... stopping for the national anthem with some americans we passed going the opposite direction. We stopped to swim in the ocean that was awesome. One night we got dressed up and went out to a nice dinner... when i say dressed up, i mean we showered and put on the only clean clothing we may have left (now none- laundry here is rediculous, so we just dont do it...haha) and when i say nice dinner... i mean we didn´t eat 5 euro spagetti!! we watched a lady get serenaided (no idea how to spell that... this spanish spell check isn´t really helping either) It was awesome. We went on the walk of love which was absolutely beautiful. it is along the coastal cliff overlooking the Italian ocean side!! Breathtaking!
Another wrong train... that was fun- about 4 hours in the wrong direction. Well we brought in on ourselves... we were going to try to take a ferry from a port city near rome to Barcelona instead of going through nice, france- as to avoid a 12 hour train ride. We got to the ferry and realized there was no way we could afford it, so we turned around and went back the way we came adding 4 hours onto the 12 that we were trying to avoid... haha- seriously i have loved the slip ups though, and i am so thankful to be with girls that embrace them and laugh at them as we go. we had a couple seconds to mourn. sat outside the ferry port that we had just ran a mile to in the humidity of about 1000 with our packs, and then picked ourselves up and walked back to the train station!!! We spent more time in Pisa than we had anticipated.
Originally we had planned to not go to pisa at all, not because we didn´t want to, but because it was simply öut of the way¨- it turns out we went twice!! - the 2 huge mistakes we´ve made via the rail system has landed us directly in front of the leaning tower... no worries we took the traditional photos that no one expects you to take in front of a tower that looks like it may fall over!!
We also were not planning on seeing Nice... haha!! stayed there!- it was very beautiful!
We are currently in Barcelona and leaving tonight for Pomplona... The running of the bulls, here we come!! we talked to a girl just last night that got ran over... she was fine...dont worry!! JEnny and I have already been routing an escape plan should Hope decide she wants to pet the nice little bull... we are all really excited!!
Barcelona was good!! The transportation system... not good! apparently France and Spain has completely separated their train systems, so if you want to go anywhere, you have to be in the country to make a reservation. So basically if you want to go to France from Barcelona, you have to make reservations in France. - which makes it hard if you are in Barcelona. So you have to stand in a line for about 5 hours to get out. We went to the station every day that we were here to try and figure it out, and gave up- we are taking a bus tonight to Pomplona at 11! We camped (we actually have camped a lot) and it was right on the beach which was so fun.
We bought these cheap little blow up mats and tried to learn how to surf on them, not very successful, and father, you will be very dissappointed to hear that i was not diligent in my sunscreen application and we are all paying the consequences.. we are very burned- a good 45 pound backpack on top of a sunburn will remind you to wear that sunscreen if the face peel doesn´t do the trick (for the Humphries clan!!!)
These past weeks have been amazing!! full of adventure and memories. Im sure that the rest of Spain and Switzerland will be just as crazy!!! Cant believe we only have two weeks left!
Our ferry back from Ios to Athens was slightly less than comftorable. We got stuck on the smokers deck and you would think that wouldn´t be a problem considering you are in the middle of an ocean that is just flowing with fresh air... but the glass protective windows did a phenominal (that ones for you leenis) job at keeping all of that out and all of the stagnant smokey air in! we spent about 8 hours of inhaling regurgitated smoke... excellent. oh also, there was nowhere to sit, so we slept on the metal floor!! we laughed it off as we have all of our lowpoints only to arrive at the next, creepier one!!
We got off the ferry tired and swollen with smoke and were approached by a cab driver that somehow talked us into getting into his cab and going to a hotel, that i am actually very surprised actually exists. It was in an extremely sketch neighborhood (dad, close your ears...we are fine!) . The taxi driver walked us into this place that i think had been vacant for some years and translated for us that we needed a room to a lady that didn´t speak a word of english... not a single word of english. she gave us our key and jenny and i took the lift up (you know the kind where you close the door and then watch the wall slide past as you go up-only room for 2- hope took the stairs!!) and walked to our room that was stagnant with stale smokey air... haha! just our luck. She said something while pointing at the Air conditioner... 20 minutes later after trying to get it to work, we figured she had said that it was broken. Shortly after that came a knock at the door!
The lady walked in and asked us for ¨the other key¨ via body language of course... it took a while, but we finally got it accross to her that she had only given us one key... she thought for a moment and then looked like she may have come to a sudden realization. She signaled that the taxi driver must have snuck the other room key in his pocket... she shrugged as if to say öh well¨ and left the room. We sat there in silence just staring at each other absolutely shocked at the situation we were in... we packed our packs against the door...created as many obsticles as we could. pulled the pepper spray out and stayed awake for a good while before we allowed ourselves to doze off... one thing i have learned about myself on this trip is that i don´t wake up for ANYTHING... alarms, loud people... we were a bit afraid that it would remain true for people breaking and entering, so we thought we would give me as much time and noise as we could so that i could be alert should that taxi driver decide to use that key that he stole and enter our room. at one point (aparently...i was told this in the morning, i didn´t wake up- of course) the girls heard something were straight up in bed, pepper spray in hand, and light on in no time at all!!
We made it though the night and left as early as we possibly could... pretty scary experience...glad to say its behind us!! that may explain the earlier comment about Athens.
Moving on... we got escorted out of the Vatican by security!!
Thats right, less than a week after getting kicked out of the parthenon, we got escorted out of the Vatican... we accidentally left through a door that should have a huge sign above it ÿou cant return if you go out this door¨ and had to go all the way around only to be told that we had to buy another ticket... we put up a bit of a fight that ended in security taking us out of there... no worries we went calmly and enjoyed a nice meal at a chinese restaurant just up the way!!
One thing i have learned is that Europeans love to say impossible¨ - even if it is unaplicable if they don´t want you to do something or they don´t allow it, they say impossible... its getting a little old...
Next we headed to Sienna for the Polio...It was absolutely incredible. The Polio is a famous horse race in Sienna Italy. The city itself is gorgeous...very old it is walled an almost entirely brick and stone! It is divided up into 14 sections of the city...10 of which compete in the race... there is so much history behind each one- rivals and allies!! anyways, it is held in the town center which is tiny. It is a ring surrounded by buildings- a clock tower, homes, restaurants. It is huge- almost bigger than soccer to these people. I loved it because it wasn´t a tourist attraction. The center was packed to the brim with locals who were so invested in a particular horse. The actual race is three times around this tiny little ring- takes a total of about 2 minutes. We stood to keep our spot by the fence for a good 5 hours and it was absolutely worth it. The teams of doctors and paramedics setting up raised our anticipation a bit. Because the ring is so small often times the horses slip around the corners and they have been know to jump into the crowd. Before the race began there was a huge parade with the horse and the jockie... the sections of town would follow their horse all the way through!! IT was so exciting.. the porkypine won!! the celebration was huge- fights broke out, people charged the horse screaming and crying!! INSANE! the section of town that wins gets to fly their flag in Sienna the rest of their year until the next Polio!! I am so glad we got to go!
Next we headed for the Chinque Terre which is the 5 cities on the western Italian Coast that you can hike. It was gorgeous. WE stayed in Riomaggore, the first of the five and enjoyed just wandering around and exploring the first night.
We spent the 4th of July hiking the cities... stopping for the national anthem with some americans we passed going the opposite direction. We stopped to swim in the ocean that was awesome. One night we got dressed up and went out to a nice dinner... when i say dressed up, i mean we showered and put on the only clean clothing we may have left (now none- laundry here is rediculous, so we just dont do it...haha) and when i say nice dinner... i mean we didn´t eat 5 euro spagetti!! we watched a lady get serenaided (no idea how to spell that... this spanish spell check isn´t really helping either) It was awesome. We went on the walk of love which was absolutely beautiful. it is along the coastal cliff overlooking the Italian ocean side!! Breathtaking!
Another wrong train... that was fun- about 4 hours in the wrong direction. Well we brought in on ourselves... we were going to try to take a ferry from a port city near rome to Barcelona instead of going through nice, france- as to avoid a 12 hour train ride. We got to the ferry and realized there was no way we could afford it, so we turned around and went back the way we came adding 4 hours onto the 12 that we were trying to avoid... haha- seriously i have loved the slip ups though, and i am so thankful to be with girls that embrace them and laugh at them as we go. we had a couple seconds to mourn. sat outside the ferry port that we had just ran a mile to in the humidity of about 1000 with our packs, and then picked ourselves up and walked back to the train station!!! We spent more time in Pisa than we had anticipated.
Originally we had planned to not go to pisa at all, not because we didn´t want to, but because it was simply öut of the way¨- it turns out we went twice!! - the 2 huge mistakes we´ve made via the rail system has landed us directly in front of the leaning tower... no worries we took the traditional photos that no one expects you to take in front of a tower that looks like it may fall over!!
We also were not planning on seeing Nice... haha!! stayed there!- it was very beautiful!
We are currently in Barcelona and leaving tonight for Pomplona... The running of the bulls, here we come!! we talked to a girl just last night that got ran over... she was fine...dont worry!! JEnny and I have already been routing an escape plan should Hope decide she wants to pet the nice little bull... we are all really excited!!
Barcelona was good!! The transportation system... not good! apparently France and Spain has completely separated their train systems, so if you want to go anywhere, you have to be in the country to make a reservation. So basically if you want to go to France from Barcelona, you have to make reservations in France. - which makes it hard if you are in Barcelona. So you have to stand in a line for about 5 hours to get out. We went to the station every day that we were here to try and figure it out, and gave up- we are taking a bus tonight to Pomplona at 11! We camped (we actually have camped a lot) and it was right on the beach which was so fun.
We bought these cheap little blow up mats and tried to learn how to surf on them, not very successful, and father, you will be very dissappointed to hear that i was not diligent in my sunscreen application and we are all paying the consequences.. we are very burned- a good 45 pound backpack on top of a sunburn will remind you to wear that sunscreen if the face peel doesn´t do the trick (for the Humphries clan!!!)
These past weeks have been amazing!! full of adventure and memories. Im sure that the rest of Spain and Switzerland will be just as crazy!!! Cant believe we only have two weeks left!
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