Vacation on the Boot

     So, I have not completely abandoned my writing on this blog, but have had a few setbacks in posting on it because of lack of internet throughout the last few weeks. First time since I bought my laptop that I haven't had it at my beck and call (unfortunate how close of a bond we form with lifeless objects). Well anyways, made it to Italy and traveled from Rome to Perugia (where the American girl killed her roommate while she studied abroad) and now currently in Venice. Venice is by far one of the best cities we have seen thus far on our trip throughout Europe and even more amazing than we pictured it to be. The canals string through the city like wispy hairs and the thin alleyways make it almost impossible to ever know where you're going. While the humidity causes a consistent dampening of the skin, it is still a thoroughly enjoyable experience to just walk around and take in the beauty of the city.

          Tomorrow we are leaving on a cruise to Croatia and Greece. Hopefully Athens will have settled down by the time we get there...

Organic Farming in the South of France

     Because we are students, aka we are poor, we wanted to do something in Europe that would be enlightening and cheap. So naturally we decided to work on an organic farm where they feed and house you for free in return for 5 hours of hard labor through a program called WOOFing. We stayed with a man and a wife who own a small organic farm in the south of France between Toulon and Hyeres. We were given a small cabin away from the main house with beds that were probably definitely better suited for the dumpster.
      We picked weeds throughout their many fields of sweet potatoes, watermelon, basil, beef steak tomatoes, onions, etc until our backs and legs were too sore to move anymore. Then we picked fruit and assorted vegetables for a special order from an organic market in a town nearby. We also made confiture (jam) from the hand picked plums in their yard.
      Everyday after work we would go to the beach on the Mediterranean that was only a 15 minute walk away from the house. Sitting amongst topless locals and enjoying Magnum ice cream treats, we definitely knew that we made the right choice for our week of 'cheap' enjoyment.

Dear Paris,

Dear Paris,

     I don't know how to tell you this, but I think that it's time that we part ways. But don't think of this as a permanent goodbye, just a simple separation. We've had a really good run and I want you to know that I'll always remember the time we shared and all the wonderful memories we created together. You've been too good to me and I want you to know that it's not you, it's me. I'm young and don't think I can be exclusive with you right now. I mean I have the rest of Europe to see and I'm running out of time. I hope you can understand where I'm coming from. I know this is kind of bad timing, especially because you are supposed to meet my family in a few weeks. Can we keep it cordial for them though? I hope you know that I'll always love you, and hey, maybe we can get back together sometime.

Yours Truly,
Ali

"Art"

     Pretty much everyone that I knew from Paris is gone now, so I've had a lot of 'me' time these past few days. Most of this time is consumed by long walks on the beach strolls around the city, reading, and museums. I went to the Orsay and Pompidou museums and have had my understanding of art completely revamped. I loved the Orsay museum, but cannot say the same about the Pompidou. While many can appreciate the modern art of the Pompidou, I just feel dumb being there. Maybe it's just me, but I can't understand how someone can conclude meaning from a urinal with a signature on it. I walked the halls for nearly three hours and still couldn't find a piece that really moved me. In fact, the only piece I really liked was one that was a brand new shade of blue that glowed in normal light. Above are some pictures of the 'art' in the Pompidou Center (I would have put some from the Orsay, but you are not allowed to take pictures there).

Praha, Little Germany?

The most amazing Astronomical Clock....

The Lennon Wall

    Last weekend we were able to go to Prague for an amazing two, but much too short days. We took a three hour free tour of the city and found out that although the Nazis occupied Prague, they left the city mainly intact because it reminded Hitler of Germany. Because of this, there were a ton of old fascinating buildings throughout the city center, including the much over hyped Astronomical Clock in one of the main squares. 

    While most of our trip consisted of site seeing, we did come away with one "crazy" story from it. The first night at our hostel we met two guys from the states who we thought we decently cool/normal. The next night they went on a bar crawl and came back pretty intoxicated. Meghan, my roommate, woke up to one them inched up to the side of the top bunk and peeing off the side, right next to where my face was and everyones' phone and computer chargers. She started yelling at him and woke up everyone in the room, and then they all started freaking out too. I was lucky to not get peed on, but everyone else didn't fare as well. In the end, we didn't leave with those boys' information to contact them again.

Terrorism in Morocco

       During my winter break in February, I was lucky enough to take a trip to Morocco. The first stop was Marrakesh, a popular city, especially for tourists. While there, we spent most of our time in the main square, Jamma el-Fna, where we dined, shopped, and enjoyed the lively street performers. One of those very restaurants that we visited was blown up in late April by the al Qaeda. While this news is not particularly new to me, it's still chilling to know that a place that I had visited so recently was attacked, and many innocent people were unrightfully killed. While life should not be lived through scenarios of what-if's, I am often curious of my luck in Morocco.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110428-morocco-death-toll-gas-cannister-explode-marrakesh-djemaa-fna#

Listen to Rihanna and Bring Your Umbrella

     So Meghan and I decided to take a break from our horrible lives in Paris and took a cheap little deal from the devil (Ryan Air) to Scotland (approximately 12 euros one way). Edinbrough, a city we had planned almost nothing beforehand for, ended up being the best city on our tour of Scotland, N. Ireland, and Ireland. We went on a free walking tour around the city and heard tales of a darker time when serial killers and stalkers roamed the tangled streets and alleyways. We also saw where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series and the graveyard that she walked around to gather names. The most interesting one was the headstone with "Thomas Riddle" scrawled across it (the main villain in the series).
    Our second city on this tour of the UK was Belfast in N. Ireland. The city was incredibly downtrodden and weary after years of painstaking efforts to assimilate the Catholics and Protestants. The first night we arrived we decided to grab some food and watch a rugby game, assured that we would be left alone after a light filament covered our skins after hours of traveling by ferry and bus. We were quite mistaken though. A group of men, all dressed in kilts, surrounded us and informed us that we would be joining them for one of their mate's bachelor party. While we weren't entirely sure that this was the night we had planned, we ended up going along and having a really fun night, even if it was in Belfast.
      We spent the next day exploring the city and the shipyard where the Titanic was built. We were soaked and in desperate need of shepherds pie by the end of the day. We later found out that through our hostel we could get a free tour of Giant's Causeway and then a free ride from them to Dublin. We were beyond thrilled to save a few extra bucks and get to the next city on our list without sufficient planning or effort.
      The bus set out at 9 the next morning and we were ready to site see our way through N. Ireland, rain and all. Our first stop included a rope bridge and breathtaking views of the coast where we could once again see Scotland. We got back on the bus and drove to Giant's Causeway where volcanic activity made rocks form into these hexagonal shapes that jut towards the sky. The last stop on our journey towards Dublin was Londonderry. We opted to show ourselves the rainy city via map rather than pay a guide. We walked through the streets with the war murals and the square that Bloody Sunday took place in. Finally we made it Dublin and passed out in our beds after grabbing a snack.
    The next day we walked around and did the Guinness tour. The Queen of England also made an appearance, which means we witnessed the first royal to visit Dublin in over 100 years. We waited outside of Trinity University for three hours until she finally appeared, soaked as usual from the on and off again rain. She drove by and waved from in side her car (it wasn't rolled down either, let down). We jet packed it back to our hostel where we left our luggage in order to make it to the airport in time for take off. Unfortunately for us though, she, and her 30 million euros worth of security, had other plans. We weren't able to cross the bridge that we needed to  and got stuck in a crowd that were on the edge of starting a riot by shouting "Guillotine the Queen." After another hour of waiting, we were finally let through and made it to our hostel. We made it, safely and on time, and were grateful to witness history in the making.

Do You Want to get Incepted?

    Today in Paris we found ourselves looking for something to do that was 1. cheap and 2. entertaining, so we took off and went to all the places in Paris that scenes from the movie Inception were filmed at. Our first stop was the bridge Bir Hakeim...

The next was at the cafe that Paige and Leo were sitting at while it blew up around them. They changed the outside of the cafe for the movie though.

Where they folded the buildings and streets.

Bubbly in Champagne

    This weekend we went to the Champagne region of France to tour some champagne caves and distributors for my 21st. Not your typical crazy, power hour, pass out kind of abuse of rights birthday eh? Nonetheless I managed to make it crazy, not in the drinking sense, but in the way that I screwed up our hotel and touring reservations, leaving us slightly homeless 90 km away from what we now call home. Regardless, we had a great weekend trying to overcome these obstacles and getting tours of Pommery, Veuve Clicquot, and Bergere.

NYC Takes the Cake Apparently...

    I came to Europe for an adventure, but also to open my eyes to new cultures and people. This was an escape from what I knew and the life I had become all too accustomed to. All of us from the US thought that the other kids at our school would be, at the very least, impressed with our courage to travel to another continent, leaving behind family and friends mind you, to attend a foreign school and experience their culture. We didn't expect to continuously hear how stupid and ignorant Americans are on at least a bi-weekly basis. While I by no means claim to be more enlightened or beyond their intelligence,  I do know that I am competent enough to realize I am not stupid or ignorant. Surprisingly enough I have actually heard more slurs against other races and cultures than I have in the US. Another realization that I've come across is how few people know where states are in America. Many Europeans give Americans a hard time for not knowing where certain countries are, but they are just as guilty as we are. While our states may fly under one united flag, we each hold distinct and different values from one another and I have not once seen a European recognize that.
     While I can often stand being called a typical American, I cannot stand the flack thrown my way for not visiting NYC yet. Yes, it may be a wonderful and vibrant city housing an impressive 20 million some people, it is by no means as glamourous to me as visiting European countries and cities. While I would love to visit it someday, I just haven't had the opportunity to fly across the country yet. After hearing how dumb I am for not visiting NYC in my 20 years, I ask them if they have visited every major city in Europe (a continent, as mentioned earlier, much smaller than the US alone) and the answer is often times 'no.' So to all of my new worldly friends reading this, please stop the annoying harassment it's getting old fast. 

The Opposite of Getting Arrested?

     Easter day was filled with magical surprises, but the best part of the day included a boat ride from Parisian cops on the Seine river. While your first thought may be "who she finally got arrested," the outcome is the complete opposite in fact. Let me explain to you how this all happened. So my friend meets a guy out one night on the town. He ends up being a river cop and offers to take her and a friend out on the boat to look at the monuments (Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, Bir Hakeim, etc etc) lit up at night. They stupidly did donuts in the bay and let us drive the boat too :) Can't believe how professional the police are in France...

Red Lights and Van Gogh Sites

     After hosting my two friends in Paris for the weekend, we hopped on the train to Amsterdam at 5 in morning. Directly after dropping off our bags at the hostel, we got in line at the Anne Frank Museum. The museum was centered around the rooms that the Frank and van Pels families went into hiding. I cried. end of story.
      After the museum we went and got our favorite Jewish treat--bagels and cream cheese to commemorate our tour. Then a pit stop at a coffee shop that hosted an Ocean's Twelve scene. We walked around the city for the rest of the day only stopping for dinner and a Heineken of course (the brewery is in Amsterdam and pretty much owns the city with its name plastered on every corner).
      The next day we did some more walking and found what was supposedly the best Doner Kebab stand in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, we were mislead. Then we we went to the Van Gogh museum for a few hours. I was surprised because often times I am not moved/touched/affected/what have you by art, but felt in tune with his work. Maybe because many scenes can be attributed to his stays in Paris and the south of France and are easily recognizable.
      My friends left early in the morning on the 20th so I walked around the city aimlessly until 2 in the afternoon when my train left. Surprisingly I made it back to Paris safely and on time.

Amsterdam takeaways:
1. If someone sexually harasses you that is staying in your hostel, it is nearly impossible to get them kicked out.
2. The red light district is entertaining to walk through, not so much for the women in the windows, but for the creepy men who are actually purchasing their services.
3. Amsterdam has friendlier people than Minnesota.
4. One may only smoke in their own house or a coffee shop

Hosting in Paris

      I recently had the pleasure of hosting my two good friends Alison and Lauren. They hail from Seville, Espana and were ready for some old fashioned fun in Paris (museums, site seeing, and the such). We spent the first day enjoying the Louvre by slowly making our way to the Mona Lisa through the sweaty crowds and then to Napoleon's apartments. After leaving the Louvre, we walked  through the Tuilleries, to the Champs-Elysses, and finally to the Arc de Triomphe. We ended our day with a baguette, cheese, and hard salami.
      Day two was a slow day, but included my first climb of the Eiffel Tower. The view was quite fascinating, but I still enjoy Paris from the Sacre Coeur more. Later on we went to Notre Dame and then to Isle Saint Louis for some Bertillion ice cream.
     Day three consisted of a short train ride to Chateau de Fontainebleau, which is well known for housing many kings and members of the royal families. The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) was signed here by Louis XIV as well as the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807) by Napoleon and Charles IV. Finally, Napoleon was stripped of his powers here by the 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau, and also exiled him to Elba. The palace was almost as grandiose as Versailles, but much less crowded.
     On our ride back we ended up getting stuck at one stop for an hour and a half. Still not completely clear on why, but something along the lines of another train was stuck or in a crash at the stop ahead of us. With the alternative being a 100 Euro cab ride back to the center of Paris, we decided to stick it out in the musty train car.
     When we finally made it back we climbed to the top of the Sacre Coeur and enjoyed the beautiful view of Paris for awhile and then began our hike across town (35 min) to dinner at Plein Soleil. We ended our night with a light show at the Eiffel Tower.

Senior Year Here I Come

     Today marks the last day of my Junior year of college. I've signed up for classes (and can actually graduate on time) and gave my final presentation. Maybe this is too early to start reminiscing about college, but it is a bit unbelievable that three years have already gone by. Now I've an entire summer ahead of me with a continent almost entirely unexplored and I plan to make the most of it. I'm trying to find something to work on though so that I don't go crazy (first summer without a job in 5 years). That being said, any ideas to flex my entrepreneurial or marketing skills that I've been paying to acquire?

Finals Week

     It's finals week aka lets find ways to procrastinate. I thought we were bad in Madison, but Paris presents so many more opportunities to tear ourselves away from our work. Take for example our picnic under the Eiffel Tower on Saturday or maybe our new eagerness to find cheap flights on Ryan Air for our summer trips. Even our workout schedules are improving (roommate ab workouts on our excruciatingly hard tile floors).  That being said, I can't complain about studying because it's the first time any of us have had to read for more than 20 minutes at a time since arriving :)

Channeling Hemingway and the Dead

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."-Ernest Hemingway


       Recently, I have gotten back the 'lets explore Paris' feeling and have done a few touristy things to compensate for my lack of earlier effort. My first stops were really hard. I had to sit in a cafe and eat cheese and drink coffee and wine while writing in my journal and enjoying friends' company. Still surprised I survived. I know you're wondering how and why is that exploring Paris, right? Well my friends, these two cafes that I went to are famous for hosting some of the world's most intellectual (which beats doing homework at my apartment).


Les Deux Magots hosted Oscar Wilde, Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Verlaine, and of course, Ernest Hemingway.


Cafe de Flore, next door, hosted Jean Paul Sartre, Picasso, and Apollinaire


       The next stop on my tour de Paris were the catacombs in the 14th arrondisement. We walked down stairs for about 15 minutes until we reached the caves. The tour takes you through underground tunnels lined with skulls and bones 10 feet deep. The cherry on top was the water dripping from the ceiling on us ha. I guess thats what you get for disturbing the dead.
        The last, but not least, stop on my journey was the France v. Croatia football game at Stade de France. The game was great, especially because 1. the Croatian fans started a fire directly below us and 2. Martin Solveig filmed his music video for "Ready to go" during halftime. 

Dating in Paris 101

     So I have decided to fully acclimate to the Parisian culture and am playing my hand in the dating game again. I've compiled a few steps to fully ensure that anyone else coming here can do just as I have:
1. Get enough courage to go up to them because only the creepy ones come up to you
2. Try to overcome the language gap by using the little French that you know and many hand gestures
3. Get their e-mail address (yeah its what they do here)
4. Follow up three to four days later and make a date
Apparently that's all you need and they are all yours? No, this probably wont work everytime, but recently it worked for me and now I'm six dates deep with a legitmate Parisian. Many great experiences have come out this relationship in fact. For one, I got to go on a a motorcycle ride around and outside of Paris to see the suburbs. I've also had the opportunity to try a few restaurants and bars that I wouldn't have gone to with just friends. And finally, I was able to have an authentic French meal cooked for me.
      But, unfortunately, relationships aren't based off of what people can do for you. From what I've learned in my last 20 years is that they are based off of attraction, respect, and fluid and interesting communication. And it isn't that that isn't occuring here, it's just that a new element has been added--lack of a future. While many might be upset by that knowledge, I'm not. I didn't come to Europe to find love, there is plenty of that back in Madison. I came for an adventure and eye opening experience, and THAT is exactly what I'm getting, at least for now.

Lions and Tigers and Pickpockets Oh My!

       Yesterday I went to get minutes for my phone (because I'm classy and use a pay as you go) at the Orange store around the corner. On my way I stopped at an ATM outside to get some money for the transaction that was about to go down. I put the money in my pocket and proceeded on my mission. After asking for minutes and finally agreeing on a price with the woman I reached into my pocket and BAM! NOTHING WAS THERE. So I made the line wait while I searched every corner of my purse and coat pockets. Still nothing. Moral of the story: don't use outdoor ATMs in Europe where people can see you put the money away.

Prost or You Will Regret It...

*** Disclaimer: Karneval is a celebration in Germany centered on drinking. If you do not want to read the tales of a LEGAL drinker in Europe, then please stop now, or continue reading and don't judge because even kids as young as 15 were participating.

  Last weekend one of my roommates and I were lucky enough to attend Karneval in Koln, Germany. We stayed with the family of a boy who exchanged at her high school a few years ago so that we wouldn't have to pay for hostels (they sky rocketed to about 100 euros a night during the festival). Well anyways, right when we got to the train station in Koblenz we met her friend at the terminal and then took off on the next train to Koln. We shared some rum and coke on the train, which was apparently kosher because everyone else was doing it and no one was getting in trouble. Anyways, when we arrived in Koln it was an absolute mess. There were these little shot glasses, hot dog wrappers, and paper everywhere--apparently we were no longer in Kansas, or Koblenz for that matter. We walked around for a few hours taking part in random beer stands along the sidewalks and streets. We had more fun watching everyone else and making fun of the their costumes than anything else. We thought we had been out all day, but in fact got back on the train at only midnight.
     The next few days we participated in the celebration in Koblenz rather than Koln because we didn't want to pay for train tickets everyday. We had a great time exploring the countryside and local castles. I wasn't incredibly interested in visiting Germany, but I think that it may have been one of the coolest countries that we have been to yet. Maybe it's because it is so similiar to the most poppin region in the US--the Midwest of course!

Barca, Round 2

     Being that I have been to Barcelona before, I was excited to return to a city in Europe that I actually knew the landscape of. The details of this stop are not incredibly exciting, but here are some of the highlights:
1. The only disgusting hostel we have stayed at since arriving in Europe. Shared room with a dirty old man who didn't zip up his pants topped it off.
2. Opium bar on night two-- met (were dragged into) a group of 6 old Brazilian men who got us into the VIP section and me specifically into the DJ booth. Almost famous.
3. Throwing up in Starbucks from who knows what (still think it was the gelato I had been looking forward to all day)
4. Seeing the spot that my dad and I almost got pickpocketed at on the red bus line
5. Eating McDonalds for the first time in Europe and discovering that it's actually better here than in the US, specifically the Chicken Mango Curry wrap.
6. Returning to Gaudi's best pieces and the market on Las Ramblas

Valencia

      When we got off our plane from Sevilla we were greeted with more 70 degree weather. We found our hostel after a few blocks of walking and quickly deposited our belongings because we were STARVING (it had been like 2 hours since eating, obviously too long...). Because Valencia is where paella was invented, we began our quest for the best in the city. We couldn't find the place that everyone suggested because none of us know how to read a map apparently, and when we finally did it was closed for the siesta, so we settled on a small cafe in a nearby square. It was delicious and fun to introduce my comrades to this new dish.  After a 3 hour nap we went out again with this Canadian from our hostel for tapas and cocktails. We walked around the city until we were exhausted and headed back to the hostel for more sleep because all we do is sleep and eat?.
       The next morning we rented bicycles with the same kid from last night and rode all around the city. It ended up being the best way to see it all, especially because the weather was so nice. We tanned on the beach and played in the water and then continued our ride around the city, it was a nice departure from Paris's recent cold and rainy weather. We bought our bus tickets and left for Barcelona at around 5, with our new Canadian friend tagging along.

Sevilla-City of Oranges

     After checking into our little b&b in Sevilla, we rushed over to the restaurant that we were supposed to meet my two good friends from Madison-Alison and Lauren. We were almost late, but ended up running into them on the street luckily. We grabbed a doner kepab, our new favorite food, and caught up on two long months of being apart. Looking around, it was easy to see hundreds of orange trees. We almost wanted to pluck some and eat them for lunch, but apparently they are really sour right now and aren't great for eating plain, but better in marmalades? We listened to the advice, unlike Eve.
      After lunch we started our Tour de Sevilla with the two best tour guides in the whole city.  Most of our time was spent at the Seville Cathedral, the third largest basilica in the world, and where Christopher Columbus is buried at. Well, let me revise that, only his bottom half is buried there. Then just a block away we were able to tour the Alcazar of Seville. It's this great palace with beautiful gardens, rooms, and peacocks (?). After a few hours of walking we sat down for some Tinto, which is red wine mixed with some lemon flavored Fanta, and possibly the best summer drink for those of you who are of age. We departed from our tour guides and agreed to meet up later for some night time activities.
      A quick shower and some makeup application was all we needed and we were back to the grind. We met up with Alison and Lauren on the river and then proceeded to find this square that 20-somethings hang out at to chat and drink casually. When we were tired of standing not meeting any locals we left to find some tapas at around 21:30 (normal dinner time in Spain). At around 23:30 we walked to the club and had a great night showing off our moves (aka swaying back and forth while snapping). At around 3 we bid adieu and embraced knowing that we wouldn't be seeing each other in quite some time. We woke up at around 9 and managed to get out of bed and onto our plane to Valencia.
       

Feeling Blue in Chefchaouen

     The third city that we visited in Morocco was Chefchaouen, the blue city. The reason for its name is not because everyone is depressed, but because many of the buildings are painted with a blue dye (who would have guessed?). Now its been awhile since we were there so the details on what we really did are a little fuzzy, so bear with me. I do know that for the first few hours we walked around looking for the ruins of a Spanish church that was modeled after a mosque. We asked countless natives, in three different languages even, and still couldn't find it. We eventually gave up and went to look for some dinner. On our way to dinner we were asked almost 10 times if we wanted to buy some weed. We found out later that Chef is known for its plethora of weed fields just beyond the city limits and that although it is still illegal, no one really gets in trouble.
     After dinner we went up to the terrace of our hostel to take in a view of the city at night. In the far distance we could hear bottles breaking, screaming, and police sirens. Eventually the noise moved in our direction, until we could hear it directly below our terrace in the alleyways. We could see men running and shouting. They would also occasionally pick up rocks and throw them at the walls, which made us a little nervous because it bordered on violence that we in no way wanted to be a witness or victim of.
     The next day we asked the man at the front desk of our hostel where the ruins of the Spanish church was and he knew exactly what we were talking about. We realized it was the building perched in the middle of one of the mountains that we had been looking at since we arrived. After the blood drained from our flushed cheeks we began our thirty minute hike. We ate a hearty breakfast (bread and jam) on the steps of the church with the best view of our little blue city.
      At noon a taxi driver came to pick us up for the next leg of our journey that was the most unplanned section of all. We knew we had to get to Tanger, take a ferry to Tarifa, and then get to Sevilla by night fall. Our taxi ride took two hours and we were going about 150 kpm the entire time. I really believe that listening to Moroccan music and swerving to not hit other cars on a small mountainous road really gave me a feel for the culture.
      We got to Tanger and were immediately ushered into a small booth to buy tickets for the boat. We filled out our forms and then went through security (more like put our bags on the x-ray machine while no one was even observing). We made it onto the boat with two minutes left to spare. Everything was going our way until we got to Tarifa. We had planned on making a bus to Sevilla, but we got lost on the way to the stop and missed the last one by 20 minutes. Thankfully everyone was flexible and not too upset that we would have to just find a hostel for the night and camp out in Tarifa. We found one quickly and then went and ate sandwiches on the beach as the sun set on the Mediterranean. Best sunset of my 20 years on this planet, so can't be too upset about our traveling misfortune. We sat at a bar for an hour and then went to bed early so that we would have plenty of energy for Sevilla in the morning.

      

Feud in Fez

   Our second stop in our little Moroccan adventure was the city of Fez. We left for Fez in incredibly early and were prepared for our four hour ride with snacks, ipods, french books, and our journals. After hour three I saw a sign that said that we were 190 km from Marrakesh and 360 km from Fez. At that moment I realized that what the man meant by '4' hours was more like 10 and the mood changed fairly quickly among us four friends. Rationing of the snacks became necessary and ipod battery life became a scarcity. Can't complain about getting a feel for the countryside of Morocco though.
     When we finally got to Fez we were hungry and crabby, both wonderful attributes to have when traveling with others. After 35 minutes of aimlessly searching for our hostel, we finally came across our little 'oasis.' We were greeted with open arms at the door and swiftly put our belongings in upstairs. We found a restaurant in one of our travel books located fairly near our resting joint and enjoyed a great dinner consisting of camel burgers, hummus, and other unidentified flying objects. There was also a Moroccan band that played for us and got everyone dancing in the restaurant.
      We went back to our hostel after finishing dinner and then prepared for our next adventure into the city to find dessert friends. When we stepped outside the man guarding the door begged us not to leave. After a few minutes of awkward language translations we realized that on Feb. 20th Moroccans are allowed to voice their opinions about the government without consequence. In the past few years it had never been a problem, but because of what was going on in Libya and Egypt, it might not be safe for us Americans. He described to us what could happen-- including being slapped to even getting mugged or stabbed. Because my addiction to chocolate couldn't be quenched we ran our quickly to find some and then returned within only ten minutes. It was only 8 pm by then so we had to think of something to do. My first natural idea was to cut my hair, obvious right? So Natalie borrowed some scissors and got to cutting. Five inches shorter, I'm a new woman. We left early the next morning to get to Chefchauoen and that concludes our experience in Fez, Morocco.

   

300,000 Camels

     Because Sporocco was 10 days long, I can't write a full blog post about it. So to make sure no one dies of boredom while reading this I'm going to shorten it to one city per post---to the five of you who actually care. ha. But back to business though, the first city on this sporoccan adventure was Marrakech and we stayed there for two days. After the scariest cab ride of my life, and actually hitting someone without stopping, we arrived at our hostel. This was the first hostel that any of us have ever stayed at and were slightly skeptical about it. When we walked into the front entry we were very surprised to find colorful mosaic tiling covering the floors and walls. We also had our own room for the first night and mint tea whenever we desired. Oh anddddd we had a terrace with sun chairs and great views of the Atlas Mountains. We took to exploring the city by first getting some moroccan food. We stepped out of our comfort zones a little by ordering tajines and random jams with bread. Then we did some site seeing at the Palais Bahia and walked around. After a few hours we got dinner and then walked around the main square that was filled with snake charmers, dried fruit sellers, monkeys, and entertainers. Everyone wanted us to pay attention to them because they thought that because we are white that we would have money. Little did they know of our status as students. One man actually put a monkey on one of my friend's head (unwillingly) and then demanded he pay for it. Finally, we went on a carriage ride around the city and got to see the rich area with the casino. We ended our night at around 10 because there isn't much of a night life.
     Our second day we got up early and ate breakfast on the terrace. Then we walked to the square again and had the best fresh squeezed orange juice for 4 MAD (50 cents). We went shopping in the souks to find great deals and souvenirs for our friends and families at home. We made it to the epicerie and saw huge piles of saffron, cumin and many other unidentified spices on every corner. When we went back to our hostel we met our new roomate who was from Germany. He was a little awkward, but we befriended him so that he would feel really bad if he tried to steal our stuff. We went to dinner in the square at these tents that are set up at night and ate in a picnic like fashion. We had skewers with every kind of meat, couscous, and mint tea. We went home after dinner and went straight to bed. We had a cab come and pick us up at around 5 the next morning and departed for Fez.

     Marrakech was great and one of the best cities that we visited the whole trip, buttttt there the constant cat calls were enough to drive any girl, espcecially blonde, crazy. They would yell "hey spice girls," "Shakira," or "fish and chips" on the reg.  If they were feeling a little more brash they would yell out and, pardon my french, "I fuck you" or "I eat you." They also offered our only male companion camels for us girls. I got up to 300,000 camels, no big. The first few times it was funny, but by the end of our visit to Morocco we were ready to be around quieter men. Can't complain too much though, the 70 and 80 degree weather were wonderful, especially after all the rain in Paris.

Spring Break 2011! No Beaches and Margaritas Though?

     Finally unpacked my bag from London (only two weeks later...) and started packing up my bag for a 10 day trip across Morocco, Spain, and France. I knew I was going to have to pack somewhat light because I will have to carry it everywhere. It also has to be under 20 kilograms in order to be considered carryon. For all of you who have travelled with me, you know that my packing skills are fairly limited because I always bring more than I will ever need. Not this trip.  No, this trip's packing requires finese and thought.  New phrase penned for this trip so that we don't kill eachother is 'Noco,' or No Complaining. So that's what I'm going to do about this baggage sitch--Noco.
      Can't remember if I explained what this trip exactly consists of yet, but if all goes as planned we will be flying into Marrakech, which is in Morocco (which is in Africa). We will stay there for three days riding camels and trying not to die. We will then take a bus (we think at least) to Fes, a city suggested to us by many visiters of Morocco, for one day. Then Chefchaouen for another night. The next day is a full travel day. We will bus it up to Tanger and then take a ferry across the Straight of Gibralter to Spain. Upon arriving in Spain, we will immediately take a bus or train to Seville and then crash for the night at our hostel. We will take a plane to Valencia two days later and stay there for the night. In the morning we will take another train to Barcelona and hang out for 4 days. Then fly back on Monday morning to Paris so that we can make our class at 1:30 pm. Sounds like a lot of traveling... We only have one goal: don't get taken.
       Throughout this whole traveling-to-six-different-cities-in-ten-days-fiasco we will hopefully have our eyes opened to new cultures and ways of life and plenty of sun and camels. I also hope to like the people that I'm traveling with after this. We decided that noone may leave the group, especially in Morocco for safety reasons, which will only make this harder to stay sane. So here's to 3 hours of sleep and the craziest spring break I've ever been on.

How Low Can You Go?

     After how amazing yesterday and today have been, its hard to imagine the mood I was previously in. They warned us at orientation that we would go through a few phases throughout our trip abroad. The first phase was euphoria and then there would be this anger and then again happiness (hopefully).  I thought, as always, that I would be an exception to the rule. I, like many of my roommates, began to resent Paris because of the lack of English being spoken and unfamiliar atmosphere. You might think "well duh" because I'm in a French speaking country and this isn't Madison or Minneapolis so obviously it will feel differently. The worst part is, we all feel guilty for feeling like this. Here we are given this amazing opportunity to travel throughout Europe and we were all feeling upset that we were missing out on our great lives back in the states. But now, the feeling is only a slight annoyance and the third phase is on its way.
     Yesterday was great because 1. the weather was absolutely amazing (sundresses and flip flops) and 2. because we were all feeling adventurous. We got off onto Isle St. Louis and enjoyed the weather for an hour before hunger took over. We all grabbed a panini and sat down on the boardwalk of the Seine. We ventured over to Notre Dame and then to Pont Neuf to enjoy more views of the Seine in this summer-esque weather. We all got separated somehow, but ended up meeting one another in the courtyard of the Louvre oddly enough. Our next destination was the Sacre Coeur, which although we've seen it multiple times, the view never gets old. It was across town, but we weren't about to use another metro ticket because the weather was, I'm going to say it again, AMAZING sorry Midwest friends. We watched the sunset behind Paris and then took off for a nap, after stopping for crepes obviously.
   Today, to our dismay, the weather in Paris decided to behave like London's. We were still in the mood to venture out though so we took off to see what Rivoli held for us. We saw a great chocolate shop so we stopped and all bought a macaroon. I'm glad we were adventurous and tried them, but I still don't understand their appeal, not my favorite dessert I will say. After grabbing an espresso to avoid the rain, we ran into BHV, one of Paris's largest retailers and lost ourselves somewhere in the 6 floors of pure bliss. Finally we escaped and took off to find "the best ice cream in Paris" because all our diets consisted of this weekend was sweets apparently. We found it, but only after 2 hours of lollygagging around the Marais and Isle St. Louis.
     This weekend ended up being great, especially with this black cloud hanging over our apartment. It was great to get out and see more of Paris, nothing to complain about on this end!

     

Shop Till Ya Drop... or Run Out of $$$

      When we finally woke up, Grace and I decided that Friday was THE day for shopping. We showered and ate breakfast, and then did some intense stretching to get through the crowds. We grabbed our power drink, Starbucks, and headed on our way to Oxford Circus.
     The first store that we stopped at was Primark, which was really cheap and so large it was actually kind of scary. I told Grace that we should have a meeting spot in case we got separated because our phones wouldn't connect for some reason. She didn't think it was necessary, but I did, so we agreed on the front entrance. After an hour of shopping on the first floor we got separated and the front entrance got some use. We both had many items to try on so we got into the 75 person dressing room line (not exaggerated). I got done trying everything on and waited outside the dressing room for Grace to come out. The first ten minutes waiting went by fairly fast because I figured that she probably just had a few more items than I did. Then another ten minutes went by and I began to get a little annoyed. After another ten minutes I walked over to our meeting spot and looked around, no Grace. I went back to the waiting rooms and waited another ten minutes. Because I have the patience of a five year old I went up to another level, figuring she would probably be in the shoe area, no dice. Went back downstairs and yet still no Grace. After an hour of waiting and walking around I returned to the entrance where Grace was waiting outside with two full bags from the store. Glad we had a meeting spot or I would probably still be lost in London.
      We had a great lunch and then continued on our journey to cover every store on Oxford Street. It was incredibly difficult, but somehow we did it. We travelled home and took a breather, our workout was finally done. I honestly can't even remember what we did the rest of the night because so much happened on Saturday and Sunday that Friday seems like only a distant memory at this point.

London: Land of Bland Food? No. HP? Yes.

      This past weekend my roommates and I decided to take a little adventure to London. While the trip was only four days long, we have plenty of memories and much less money to show otherwise. The trip started off pretty smoothly with leaving for the train station at 6 am. This is the earliest we have had to get up so far on this trip so it was kind of a struggle. We made it to the station with plenty of time, but getting our tickets and passports stamped didn't go as smoothly. I had left my credit card that I bought my ticket with at the apartment and also the piece of paper that had all of my trip information on it as well. They were able to find it after a few minutes, but warned me that it would not be acceptable next time. Oops. We left that office and then tried to travel through the gates to have our passports stamped, which should be an easy task because we weren't leaving the EU right? No. We didn't have the address of my friend's house that we were staying at and apparently they really don't like that. One of us got yelled at by one of the officers and we realized that this might deter us from ever actually getting to London. They then interrogated us all to see what our purpose would be in London and why on earth we would have come to Paris to go to school. I really didn't think it was that confusing of a reason...
      When we loaded the train we found out that one companion would be in a different car and we would have to meet up at the station when we finally reached the mother land. My other roommate and I boarded the train and quickly fell asleep without a problem. When we reached London, we got off to see our other roommate with a bottle of champagne and 10 British pounds. Turns out she sat next to two older ladies who ended up chatting her ear off and giving her a job and these presents. Good to a be a talker isn't it?
      We then set off to find my roommate for next year, Grace, the one we were staying with, and get some food. We took a detour and found platform 9 3/4 where a hoard of kids were taking pictures, we couldn't resist though and took part as well. Harry Potter terms were being thrown around left and right as we had finally reached the dwelling of one of our all time favorite characters.
      After leaving the station we quickly found the restaurant that we would be meeting Grace at. We had a round of cider beer because we were in London and why not, we didn't have a schedule right? My friend finally arrived and we sat down and had lunch, shephards pie to be exact. I had always sort of presumed that English food would be incredibly bland, but to my astonishment it was one of the best meals I have had in Europe so far. When lunch was over Grace had to go back to work so she gave us her key and directions to her place. We left satisfied and ready to take on London as foreigners. Obviously we got lost and had to ask for directions multiple times, but it was okay because they all speak English!
      We slept for an hour and then took off on another adventure to see the London Bridge. This was probably the best site that we saw the entire trip, couldn't fully explain the reasoning behind it because I'm still not even sure why, but it was pretty awe inspiring to see. Again, the food at dinner was awesome and we all enjoyed the atmosphere.
      We went out later that night and found a pretty cheap bar. While it was nice to see drinks under 3 (Euro, Dollars, Pounds, etc.) the bar was full of obnoxious Americans who were just looking to get plastered and make fools of themselves. While this may be okay in Madison, it was too weird to deal with in Europe. We left at 1 am and fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows couches. 
      

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