Four Countries Later

It has certainly been another long break in my blogging business, but WIFI has been hard to find, and free time and energy even harder. We are in France now, just finished our first run of Paris and in the Loire Valley, where I bumped into this 'free' access. Hopefully it will be around later when we get back from going out for a (cross your fingers. . .) great French dinner! Au revoir!

Lofty Volterran Adventures. . .

Arrival in Volterra was early and painless. The view of the tuscan hillside was also spectacular, though the bus ride a bit stomach churning. Volterra was much higher and more secluded than the other hill towns we'd seen so far, and the seminary we stayed at had a great view from the window of the entire countryside. As with San Gimignano, the town was a different experience during the day compared to early morning and evening, and we witnessed several 'small town' phenomena along the way too.

Our first day was spent wandering and getting to know our way around (not too difficult considering its size). However, we had another key experience, once again because of the unreliability of Marshall's pants pockets. This time our room key ended up falling off the wall of the city into the ancient Roman theater below, which turned out to be too dangerous for even the police to go retrieve (and, yes, I did ask them to). Instead, I had to explain to the seminary (fortunately not in my broken Italian) what happened to their key. . .

Besides the second 'key incident,' the rest of the first day was okay. We found a decent sized supermarket for our day trip meals and dinners before heading to bed, which turned out to be the most unpleasant part of the day. Apparently bed support isn't too important to the priests and students that live at the seminary, but that, along with our bug infestation, proved to be the ultimate cause of our sleep deprivation for the next three days. When we finally arrived in Florence Marshall ended up crashing at around 7pm the day of our arrival and slept till 7am the next day.

Our second day we had a long day trip planned for the well-known tuscan town,Pisa, and much lesser-known Lucca. The final full day was just for Volterra shopping and relaxing before heading on to museum-hopping Florence early the last day. That's it for now! Ciao!

Under the Tuscan Sun

After our sprint in Italy with Rome and Naples, I was looking forward to a bit more time to relax in central Italy in the region of Tuscany. Our plan was to leave Naples by train early, stop by Chiusi to explore some old Etruscan (the civilization that the region is named for, flourished in history between the Greeks and Romans) tunnels, and arrive in Siena in the afternoon for a one night stay. The next day we'd head to Volterra, where we'd be staying for four nights, and take a day trip to San Gimignano (just left of Poggibonsi on the map) and maybe Pisa while we were there.

However. . . the plans turned out to be a bit more spontaneous due to many unexpected circumstances, and especially due to the lack of reliable public transportation in Tuscany.

As usual, things turned out fine and most of the time we had a good time. In Chiusi we couldn't drop our luggage off, so we never even made it to the town (which required a city bus ride to the top) and just headed on to Siena. Siena is one of the most recommended smaller towns in Tuscany, but we didn't have much time there to enjoy it because of our difficult of arriving in Volterra on a Sunday-- after a very un-buffet style breakfast at our only expensive B&B. We left Siena early, hoping to find a way to Volterra via San Gimignano because they were only 30km apart (and buses only left for SG and Florence from Siena). Upon arriving in San Gimignano (known for its 72 stone towers, of which only 14 are still standing) we discovered a festival was underway, which could have been quite nice if we hadn't had all our luggage with us. My plan was to find the tourist office, which was supposed to let us drop our bags off, then search out a way to Volterra or a room in SG instead. However, the festival was occurring in the blocked off plaza where the tourist info office was situated; to get in we'd have to pay eight euros. Not willing to pay money unnecessarily, Marshall went searching the town for a pay phone and other info offices, while I watched luggage and watched costumed locals parading into the other plaza. . .

Obviously there are a lot more unpleasant details to that particular Sunday, but following almost nine hours of painfully waiting 'in flux' we did get a room in SG. After giving up on the bus to Volterra when the bus driver said there wasn't one, we looked for rooms, and exhausted the recommended places list save one. We found our last hope, but it too was closed. I'm sure we looked pretty defeated at this point, but one of the locals participating in the festivities came over to help us out. When he found out I could (more or less) speak Italian he told me that the owner also owned the adjoining restaurant and would be back at 6pm, so we should try back then. And he told me the equivalent in Italian of 'don't worry, be happy.' It was a nice high in the middle of a long day of lows. We saw him later in the final parade of the festival.

It turned out they took down the barricades later on and we were able to watch a few events for free. First, the final parade of the four competing neighborhoods (blue, red, green, yellow flags decorated the city indicating the neighborhoods) entered the plaza (pictured later that evening), with the winners, the 'contrada' (neighborhood) with the blue flag with the eagle, entering last. Their champion (the guy on the horse in the picture) had won the golden sword and came prancing in on his horse waving his prize in the air, with all the rest of his contrada comrades celebrating with shouts and throwing bundles of wheat (or something?) in the air. But the best part was when tight-wearing, short-skirted men came out twirling flags. . .aka, the flag throwers from Siena. Being an Under the Tuscan Sun fan, I love finding relationships to the movie, like the limoncello tasting in Sorrento, and so this event had even more meaning for me. It started out with just four throwers and four drummers. The passes became more and more intricate, and the music quicker, as the show progressed. The men would do some intricate choreography exchanging flags and 'twirling' them, but the greatest part was when they'd launch them like spears into the air, either to catch their own or to pass it to another. It was simply exhilarating to watch (though I very stupidly didn't have my camera at this point and was too enthralled to leave. . .) Later, a larger group of throwers came out to perform, and it was only toward the end of this group, when 15 or more flags were getting tossed into the air simultaneously, that two flags collided in the air and the men missed them. The rest of the performance seemed flawless.

After the flag throwing performance a group of musicians played a song before we decided to go find some food, which ended up being mediocre pizza to go (from an amusing pizzeria), with which we watched a spectacular sunset over tuscan hills. Then we each got a gelato to end the evening, wandering around the nearly empty city before heading back to the hotel.

The next morning we left early to get to Volterra (finally!!) which was 2hrs away with the tuscan distance-time inequivalency (30km = 2hrs??). Once again the streets were devoid of tourists, just locals preparing for the day. What was really amazing was the way the entire ambiance of the city changed with early morning and evening compared to the day. And before our bus left, I also got to be the third person into the supermarket that morning. I was just behind two men with their shopping carts ready in front of the sliding doors a few minutes before opening time.

Back to the Land of Pizza and Pasta

And of all places to find pizza, Naples is definitely the best spot. Naples was, unexpectedly, one of my favorite big cities. It seems that everyone is just too concerned about their own lives to care about the tourists. The pulse of the city was rapid, especially when we first tired crossing the busy and crowded roads with all our luggage. But I enjoyed it all. Unlike Rome, no one pestered me to buy things and most people I talked to in Italian were willing to hear me out (and help me!) instead of reverting to English and unpleasantness. And we took a packed full day trip to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast town of Sorrento, home to limoncello! It's a locally produced lemon liqueur that we were able to try (along with licorice --yuck-- and orange) in the midst of their lemon and orange grove in the middle of town. Marshall also made a new friend with their dog, who refused to accept any lemon but the one he was holding, even when his owner, who served us our samples, tried to give him a fresh lemon. It was another free and entertaining experience with locals.

The first night in Naples I was in search of the folded pizza Rick Steves shows in his TV show of Naples. And I never saw a single one!! It was very disappointing, but I did get my brick-oven baked pizza, not in Naples, but in Sorrento at a recommended pizzeria. Since we would be arriving late in Naples, we didn't want to stick around after dark to eat (for all that I liked Naples I definitely wouldn't want to be out after dark), so we had to decide on one elsewhere. I ordered margherita, just fresh tomato and mozzarella with some fresh basil leaves, and Marshall found his dream pizza, marinara, with only tomato and oregano, no cheese at all. At least they were really delicious pizzas because the service was a bit lacking, apparently because we were Americans. I watched the Germans and English customers around us receiving considerably friendlier service, which really put a damper on our meal even with our (my) craving satisfied.

But some good gelato was a good mood booster, at Da Vide Gelateria, which had over twenty flavors! It was really an incredible lineup. We ordered the citrus bursting orange and lemon mix, 'frutti di bosco' or mixed fruit (literally fruit of the forest), and raspberry. Which were all great, refreshing flavors after our humid and boiling sun four hours at Pompeii. While Pompeii was obviously touristy, we arrived early enough that we could wander to the less touristed areas of the huge site and have it all to ourselves. Then, at the end, we stopped by the frequented tour spots like the House of the Faun, the baths, the Temple of Isis, and the brothel. But my favorite things to see there were the plaster molds made of the deceased victims of Pompeii. Archaeologists discovered hollows while digging and eventually realized those hollows were actually the outline of Pompeii's citizens who were covered in ash and were instantly burned away, leaving just the hollows that could be filled with plaster and could be removed to reveal a chilling replica of how the person looked just before he or she died. It was the most real part of the entire place to me.

And now off to bed before a busy museum hopping day in Florence tomorrow! Tuscany will have to wait. . .

Greece Greatness 2: Zakynthos

Zakynthos = Amazing. Returning is a must. Our stay was really hassle free, pleasant, and superbly enjoyable (finally!!). We had a little issue at the beginning with being picked up at the port at 11pm our first night, but it all worked out in the end. And then the room. . . the greatest deal on lodging ever! I still can't believe it. We had a very nice studio that had a double bed, a twin bed, a huge balcony area with furniture and a clothesline, a cooking area with a sink and hot plate and all necessary cooking ware, and a TV and bathroom. The first day of cooking one of the plates fell from its drying position and broke, but the guy at the reception was completely unconcerned and said not to worry about it. The place even had a pool and bar area as well, but Marshall and I never used it considering the beach was only a 10-15 minute walk away.

This particular beach, Kalamaki, was the major reason we came to Zakynthos; it is the nesting location of the endangered loggerhead sea turtle. Our first time out in the water, not even five minutes after getting in, we spotted one just a few feet away. It was huge and simply gorgeous. We also went poking around in the sand after the first turtle swam away and found a cool looking crab and a really weird bivalve (clam of some sort). The water was warm and shallow a long way out. And we could walk along the beach and see the spots marked as turtle nests. It was a great break to hang out at the superb beach and come back to a home-cooked meal and not a hostel dorm room! We made some spaghetti for dinner with a salad, had a local sweet white wine, and then cake and ice cream for dessert, with a cappuchino to end. Scrumptious! And then having a warm breakfast the next day and more good meals, along with the beach again.

For our second excursion to the beach we brought the underwater camera and the goggles, and then almost ran into another turtle as we were wading in the water. Though the first one tried to get away pretty quick, the next three were willing to let us swim around them a few feet away, taking pictures. That experience is still our favorite so far because no one else (of human origin. . .) was near us. Just the two of us and the big, friendly turtles. I loved it. That night we also went to see Shrek 3 at a local bar to get some entertainment out of the sun, and while we were wandering in the evening we found a Greek who knew the capital of Iowa! He said he really liked geography and had memorized all the capitals of the states. It was pretty impressive and quite amusing.

But our time in Zakythos ended much too quickly. We didn't see any of the other parts of the island, like the shipwreck beach or the blue caves. And our attempts to get up early to see the sunrise (and go running) didn't work out here either. Nor anywhere else as of yet. . . But the long journey to our next stop, Naples, was simply exhausting. Finishing up packing bags early Wednesday morning we were driven to Zante Town at 9am, where the port to the mainland is located. I wasn't sure about ferry times because no one would answer when I called, but our idea was to get there early and hope for the best. We had our 16hr ferry to Italy at 6pm in Patras, and knew it was at least 2.5hrs to get to the Patras port on the mainland. In the end, it turned out the ferry left at 11am, which was perfect and even allowed time to grab some groceries for the ferry, too. However, the next two days were a public transportation heyday. Saying it all in a row is much more impressive (and painful to recall). . .

Van ride to the bus station, bus ride to the port, get off the bus onto the 1.5hr ferry, get off the ferry for an hour long bus ride, walk to the port to get tickets, onto the boat at 4pm, off the boat the next day at 8:30am, bus ride to the train station, train halfway to Naples, switch to a bus for another 1.5hrs because the train wouldn't be there for another three hours, then one more bus ride from the train station/bus drop off point to our hostel. . . And we, amazingly, were able to make it to the Archaeological Museum after all that without completely crashing. Grabbed some groceries for dinner and our day trip to Pompeii and Sorrento, watched part of a movie on my laptop, and hit the sack very hard.

Fortunately, the extremely long ferry ride wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. We obviously didn't pay for a cabin or anything, but this time found a kid's area (that played Disney movies!) with some nice comfy chairs nearby (with an outlet!) that allowed us to be enertained for quite some time with movies and Nintendo games. Though I don't want to see Peter Pan agian anytime soon considering it was played at least eight times during the journey. But we did get a bit of sleep after I physically attached and locked all of our valuables to me before I drifted off (Marshall was already out, of course). One of the crew had to wake us up to make sure we got off the boat, so it must have been a decent sleep!

Greece Greatness 1

Our first island in Greece was a nine hour ferry ride southeast of Athens, between the Aegean and Cretian Seas. A crescent shaped volcanic island, Santorini surrounds the caldera of the volcano that created it in the center.








Our extremely cheap hostel was a 15min or so ride away from the port near the caldera center. However, cheapness definitely came at a price. A 10 person dorm with squeaky bunk beds, only one sheet, and roadside and patio side door (all of which meant we did not get much sleep).

But our time was mostly spent at the beach a 5min walk away, getting our burns started for the rest of the trip. Though it was not the ideal sandy beach setting, with larger black sand and lots of seaweed, it was quiet and fairly devoid of people. We also discovered a delicious pita place a few doors down from the hostel and enjoyed freshly made pitas for 2 euros (which Marshall still is obsessed over). One day we even hiked the 13km into the capital of Santorini, Fira, to see the tourist donkeys and to get a bus over to Oia for the so called wonderful sunset (Note: it was possible to take the bus to Fira too. . .) Unfortunately Fira was just too touristy to have a good time, and though Oia was very pretty, we had to catch an earlier bus back to Fira to get the last bus back to where our hostel was located, which meant we missed the sunset completely! But I did get Marshall out of bed the next morning at 5:40am to see the sunrise on the beach and that turned out to be absoluely beautiful, even though he was still half asleep.


But after a nap that morning the rest of the day had a few issues. First, some frustrations with the hostel owner who thought we were only staying three nights, then some room key issues. . . ie, it got lost. We asked for a new one then went to get some lunch for our one time restaurant outing in Greece. The stuffed tomatoes were great, then Marshall ordered sword fish filet, also delicious, and I got the fresh fish, which turned out to be a bunch of little sardines. Definitely learned my lesson from that to ask what exactly the fresh fish might be. But it was still good. And even better afterward, when we went back to the beach with my goggles I ended up finding the keys further out from the beach! Apparently in all our huff over the room mixup Marshall had stuck the keys in his swimtrunk pocket, we got in the water, and the keys fell out.

That evening we just enjoyed some cold milk and oreos, then packed up and went to bed (not really sleeping), before getting up early the next morning for our insane taxi ride to the port (first, the taxi broke down, had to be pushed, then he went crazy fast, and we were five really crammed people all being shoved into each other as he turned sharp corners). But this ferry ride was a much better one at least, and we even made it to the bus station in Athens for our bus/ferry to Zakynthos, our next island on the other side of mainland Greece, in the Ionian Sea.

Tardy Updates

Considering the quantity of things that have occurred since my last post, a brief summary should now ensue. . .

I survived my solo trip before Marshall arrived in Spain on May 31, and had some good times meeting people and petting horses in southern Spain (along with some not so hot lonely times). After a night bus to Madrid I finally made it to the airport where I met Marshall and we flew back to Oviedo for super quick packing. Though everything was really stressful (and both of us were really tired), we made it -- without forgetting anything major -- to Santander and caught our flight to Rome the next day.

According to my travel guides, I should have expected unpleasantness in Rome. But by this point in our trip both of us can truly say it was our absolutely least favorite city. Getting from the airport to our hostel wasn't too rough; however, my first experience in the metro a tobacco stand owner tried to rip me off one euro while buying a ticket. My aggravation with the city was also assisted by the mix up at the hostel, a confusing and assuredly unpleasant situation that caused us a lot of frustration and in the end a good deal of extra money. Outside of that problem, Rome was just too touristy. I didn't feel any hint of real Italy in Rome and really looked forward to the day we left it.

Fortunately, one of our favorite sites so far we found in Rome: Raphael's School of Athens fresco in the Vatican City Museum. And of course the Sistine Chapel was amazing, though packed and tightly disciplined (no sitting, no photos, no talking). We used Marshall's little binoculars to get better views of the immense amount of frescoed walls and ceiling. St. Peter's Basilica was quite intimidating as well, but my dislike of the Barocco style overwhelmed any enjoyment from it. After a quick snack break we got out of the touristy area as quick as possible and looked for the path through a park, which turned out to have great views of all of Rome. For the rest of the day, which was beautiful and sunny (and swelteringly hot as we stood in line for the Vatican Museum for over an hour and a half), we just walked around the tourist sites of Rome, and enjoyed a delicious chocolate and honey gelato before heading back to the hostel.

The second day in Rome was rainy and not one of our favorites, even though it was our only chance to see the Colosseum and Palantine Hill. After being soaked all day, we had some good pasta before heading to the airport for our flight to Greece.

Greece was definitely less stressful, and our multiple night stays really helped our sleep levels and gave us a chance to relax. Athens was first, where we had little troubles and even found out there was a national environmental holiday and all tourist sites were free! So we went to the practically empty Acropolis twice and visited the huge National Archelogical Museum as well, along with trying out hand washing clothes in the sink for the first time (but certainly not the last).

Then on to the islands. Our 5am start time to get to the ferry for Santorini was rather stressful since we were both extremely tired and got lost on our way to the metro to get to the port. At least we made it with plenty of time to spare, and another 9 hours on the actual ride, which wasn't so pleasant because of our deck seats. On our return trip we found out we could have sat in the nicer (and air-conditioned!!) inner seats, and had a much more enjoyable return trip watching movies and playing Nintendo games on the laptop.

The rest of Greece must wait!

Return to Spain

Now I´m back in Spain again, readjusting to speaking Spanish instead of Portuguese. The 10 hour train ride wasn´t as horrible as I expected, and I wasn´t too tired when I arrived in Madrid at 9am. My first stop of ´errand-running´was the Atocha train station to reserve tickets to Andalucía for this coming Monday. Next I went to the bus station for Toledo to drop off luggage, and then to Puerta del Sol with a German lady who needed help finding her way.

I had almost 5hrs free still by that point, and it was pouring outside, so I decided to figure out a few indoor activities. First, a meatball sub at Subway! The first one since I arrived. . . Next was the third great art museum in Madrid (besides El Prado and the Reina Sofía) Thyssen-blah blah (I need to look up the name. . .). This museum was really spectacular and I gained a few new favorite artists from it too.

Okay, I can´t take the smoke anymore here, so I´ll be back later!

Lisboa in 48 hours!

After surviving my lonely time in Porto and Coimbra, I finally made it to Lisboa, where things started to brighten up. Though I had some issues getting to the bus station in Coimbra (got on a local bus that the driver said went to the station, but he didn´t tell me when, so I rode around again. . . for over an hour. . .just to miss the Lisboa bound bus, watching it drive out as I walked up, and having to wait another hour and a half for the next one), the ride to Lisboa was pleasant, with pretty scenery as well. Much unlike the sickening 8hr ride from Oviedo to Vigo. I arrived at 9pm and didn´t have too hard of a time getting to the pension. It was even easier than I thought´d be, fortunately. And the two women at the pension were really nice and friendly to me, giving me the pretty single room with a view of the Tajo River/Atlantic Ocean. I didn´t head out that night, but the next day I had a busy time with a day trip to Sintra, an 30 minute trian ride from Lisboa.

Sintra was an amazing place. I could really spend pages explaning everything, but I think the pictures really describe it best, so I´ll wait till I can put those up.

Portugal Blues

I get to finally realize just how boring and superbly lonely it is to travel by myself. Yay! Saturday was a long day in the bus, fighting the urge to puke most of the time. Sunday was creepy Porto and a day walking around on the beach, then making it to Coimbra after meeting a good amount of new people. And now Monday is here; I walked around Coimbra for 3 hours after breakfast, got lost, realized I didn´t have my bus pass, so I continued walking. . . until I finally reached a familiar landmark. And now I´m back at the internet spot, mostly because I have no where else I want to be. Lovely.

I still need to get a bus or train to Lisboa so I can get to my pension by 6 or 7 tonight. My luggage is at the hostel, which was actually quite nice and came with a big breakfast (half of which I saved for lunch). And the guy at the desk this morning decided I was Spanish because of my hostel card from Spain and the fact that I insert vale into my Portuguese (on accident, just out of habit), which is Spanish for okay. So he thought he was being all smart talking to me in Spanish on my way out. Bah.

At least the sun is starting to shine now. It would have been chilly this morning if I hadn´t been walking nonstop. Hopefully my travel interest perks up with Lisboa (sort of doubting it. . .) I want to go to a fado show and take a few day trips. One to Belem for the pastries, another to the huge park with an Ocenarium, and a third to Sintra, which has large ruins of a Moorish castle. I´ve really been questioning the point of travelling right now (since I have no one to talk to but myself. . .) I spent loads of money just getting from Oviedo to Portugal, yet didn´t spend much time anywhere in particular, and didn´t even step into any of the typical tourist sites (cathedrals, museums, wineries, etc).

Well that´s enough complaints for now I suppose. . . até logo!

Los Domingos

Sundays are usually some of my favorite days in Spain. Waking up early in the morning to head to Gijon, a town 20 minutes away, to attend the missionary church with Sara. The streets are normally quiet and empty. One of the few times that ever happens (but only because most people went out so late on Saturday night they are now at home sleeping at nine in the morning, and everything is closed on Sunday).

So yesterday I got to enjoy the bright sun and greenery in San Francisco Park as I walked to the gym before church. We had a goodbye picnic planned in Gijon, and therefore wouldn´t be leaving till around one in the afternoon. For once this allowed me my only opportunity at the gym on a Sunday, since it is only open 9am-2pm, exactly the time I´m in Gijon. My host mom told me when I got back that she didn´t even hear me get up. . .

Hmm, didn´t finish this post in a timely manner, but the picnic was nice, a little windy and sad with all the goodbyes, but test studying was waiting for us!

Weekend Updates

Two weeks left! Amazing how much faster this month will go than all the others. I leave on May 19th for Portugal and just finished adding up all the expenses for that 12 day excursion (which includes 5 days in Portugal, 4 in Madrid/Toledo, and 3 in southern Spain). The final number was painful, but I think it will be well worth it. I'm missing the last two days of school, but I doubt I'll actually be 'missing' anything important. These classes don't make sense because we have finals spread out over a week, yet still have regular classes for the whole week and two days of the next week. Weird.

Still very happy with the new family-- no more fires either! I've been eating very solid meals now (soup, salad, main course, side dish, dessert. . .) and should probably be increasing my frequency at the gym, but maybe the many extra hours of walking to and from will pay off too. I love talking to Josefina, and the 'abuelita' is so cute too! They have been so superbly nice, and I even had to stop Josefina from ironing my gym clothes. . . I just didn't see the necessity in that. Obviously. Lot's of contacts to make still with all the trip planning. Seems like I finish one trip and I end up with another to do anyway!

Last weekend was rather quiet, but fun. I finally finished homework and can now maybe start working on those independent study projects. Mmmm. And Saturday evening we had a Cinco de Mayo party in Miguel's, a Spaniard, parents' apartment. So I ended up cooking fajitas for about twenty people!! It was absolutely crazy. Miguel had to help me considering I had no idea where stuff was, and some other people helped cut up food or clean up afterward. But now there are some rather poor (a.k.a. extremely horrible) photos of me on facebook. Yuck.

I'm off to work on crossing things off my to-do list! Hasta luego!

Headline: Fire in the House!!

This week has certainly been a busy one, starting with my change of families on Wednesday afternoon. It was not a pleasant departure, with only Raquel home, but I still managed to move my stuff all the way across town and meet Josefina and her 92 year old mother, as well as Irene, her daughter who studies law.

Though it now takes me over a half hour to walk to school, Josefina is so amazing I think these next two weeks will be my best, if not my busiest, here. And when I told her my schedule I included the Combat classes at the gym of Tues/Thurs nights, which prompted her to ask who was the instructor. Not thinking too much of it, I said 'Ricardo,' and soon found out after being shown some photos in the living room that he's her son! Small world!-- or as we say in Spanish, 'El mundo es un panuelo.'

But the surprises still weren't over yesterday. Soon after that revelation a friend came visiting who already had heard of me from my conversation partner, Tati! Things were starting to get surreal. However, the real clincher was later that afternoon as I headed out to Combat class after a quick dinner (french fries and bacon/egg cooked in the same huge vat of oil! Ah!).

Upon saying goodbye (kiss, kiss!) I began walking down the stairs from our fifth floor apartment. As I neared the fourth floor I noticed smoke was in the air. Figuring someone had possibly burned a tortilla or something I continued down the stairs. But by the third floor the smoke was getting so thick I could hardly breath, and I started hearing shouts and the floors below me. I ran straight back up to the apartment yelling 'FIRE!' and helped Josefina get the abuela ready with jacket and shoes. She stuck the cat, Musi, in his bag while I wetted some cloths to stick over our mouths.

But what I didn't realize was that abuela can't walk down stairs (and the smoke was probably too much to do it anyway) so we hopped in the elevator, an act that goes against any fire drill I've ever done. We made it safely down, coughing and smelling of smoke and as we exited the building we could see a huge crowd of people, an ambulance, and firefighters arriving.

In the end, Josefina told me to go to Combat class (she had made a point of grabbing my stuff for class on the way out) and said she'd send me a text message when everything was okay. So I headed off, shaking still from the whole experience. I found out when I came home that, fortunately, no one was injured; the fire started with a senora on the first floor and she was taken to the hospital along with one other man because of the smoke. Besides that, nothing too serious, but quite an experience!

Headline Today: Alexa Confronts Host Sister

Just got done with a rather heated 'discussion' with my host sister, Raquel. Goodness. . . that was crazy! I am red in the face and still shaking from it.

I had had a rather nice day in Gijon with Sara. We ate pizza and croquetas (look like fried cheese balls, just with potato, ham, and cheese inside) in Gijon then found some sweet snacks before returning to Oviedo to work on our Madrid trip and watch Happy Feet. However, when I got back home the food I had eaten yesterday ('lomo,' a pork loin type think. . .) was gone, which was what I was considering eating. Instead there was only some weird looking chicken stuff that looked like a dog had spit it out or something (it looked fine on Friday. . .) and some rice stuff with tuna and chicken chunks or something (similar to a food we've eaten before). I was not really in the mood for that and would've liked something not so heavy to munch on. And on top of that the small plate of rice I ate even made me feel sick afterward. So after walking Sara part way home and mentioning that I would complain to my host mom about this weekend's food supply, I decided I'd just ask Raquel when I got in if her mom had left money to buy food or something. Bad idea.

Raquel pretty much exploded at me, saying it was a lie and there was everything to eat in the house (she kept saying 'hay de todo!'-- that's great, I don't think there is 'de todo'). She just kept going through all the things that we had had and that 'you like those, we had those,' not really understanding that I didn't have options, just rice and chicken today. 'What more do you need?' she kept asking. I don't get it. I tried to say that for me a meal is not just one thing, it's a little bit of vegetables or fruit and some meat or pasta. And she didn't understand she just kept saying 'Don't get mad!' though it was really her getting mad which made me more upset. I just came in to ask one little question, trying to assure myself that there might be something to eat tomorrow, and instead I got a huge fight.

Oh, I tried, I tried to explain and make her understand how I felt. That I am not used to eating like this and can't take such heavy food all the time/anymore, I told her I just needed another option ('There's always 2 or 3 things!' she says-- 'What do you want me to do, make some chicken then pasta, then fish --because I mentioned fish-- and then some American food --because I said the food here is not the same-- blah blah blah?!') Wow. The only thing she seemed to accept that I said was having fruit and at least some lettuce around if I don't want to eat the leftovers. (And that's it for new foods now too. . .)

I could really go on and on about all she said, but I think a lot of the problem was her explosion. She was expecting me to do this, and I told her that it seemed like it. Then she said she was mad so quick because she's noticed me come to the kitchen and open the fridge then leave without eating anything, and she didn't understand why. Well why the **** didn't she ask me!! That's what I kept saying. If you wondered, if you were mad, why didn't you ask me? Because she kept telling me I could say I wanted this or this, but she couldn't do anything if she didn't know. . . Wow. Like I said I could just keep going, but I need to settle down somehow now, before I really lose it, so goodnight.

Flashback Time

Okay, here's a bit of a 'recap' of some of my favorite experiences in Europe:

SPRING BREAK: LONDON, NORWAY, BARCELONA

On March 27th, which was my godfather/favorite uncle's birthday, I celebrated by taking a flight to London! After my arrival, I navigated through the Tube with a heavy wheeling-suitcase and lots of bags of food and a camera bag (not recommended on hindsight), to finally reach my hostel after leaving Oviedo 7hrs earlier. Though I was tired (particularly after the 25 flights of stairs to my room-- okay it was 5 or something, the view from my window is shown here) I was so excited about being in London I went exploring by myself and had a scary/exhilarating time jumping on and off buses/subways until 1am. The next morning I somehow managed to wake up at 7am to go running in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, which was also amazing. The air was chilly, yet the view was well worth it. Lakes full of an assortment of birds, riders in the horse corrals, and feeling like I was seeing the real London, not the tourist side (which is what I experienced later).

After being the first one to breakfast when I returned, I then met the rest of my hostel roommates-- Owen, Morgan, and Craig-- two were brothers from Michigan and one was from somewhere in England. They were heading to Cambridge that morning after checkout, so I got to chat with them for a while during our wait. Upon saying goodbye I took the Tube back to Victoria Station, in order to meet my dad for our adventures in London. However, neither of us felt like doing much tourist stuff (or at least I didn't) so we really didn't get much sight-seeing done. It was more enjoying the city itself and riding double-decker buses! I did see the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street and had a nice picnic lunch in gorgeous Regents Park, after a quick glance through the National Portrait Gallery.

Then back to the hotel to collect our luggage and off to Norway! For anyone travelling to London though, please realize the high costs of getting between the airport and the city. It is absolutely ridiculous. And Europe now has a 'one carry-on bag' policy, unlike the U.S. who allow a laptop bag, purse, etc in addition to the actual carry-on. Would have been good to realize that one, too.

Anyway, we headed to Norway without knowing more than a few words of Norwegian, though some of us--Dad-- liked to pretend he knew how to say lots of things. His Norwegian included a lot more vocab words, but I'd like to think my pronunciation was significantly better. . . We arrived at the airport at almost midnight, without a clue of what to do. I was tired, Dad had jetlag, but had slept (aka snored) on the way there (and anywhere else we were too. . .), so let's just say it wasn't the most enjoyable evening. However, we did manage to reach our boat/B&B and got into our cabin/room and off to bed around 2am.

The buffet table, Dad, and my waffle maker!

From that point, Norway was just a crazy ride that I had a hard time keeping up with at times. Had a great breakfast at the MS Innvik in Oslo (our B&B), packed, got to the train station in time to figure out a railpass of sorts, get a ticket to Bergen, grab some groceries, and leave! It makes me tired even thinking about that morning. . . I slept on the way there a bit, tried taking pictures on the 'most scenic train ride in Norway,' and made some lefsa. I love lefsa. Mmm, lefsa.

Arrived in Bergen, hoping to meet some relatives that wanted to take us in for a few nights, and finally had to walk to their house after waiting an hour because of a miscommunication problem. But after meeting Alvhilda, my dad's second cousin, things seemed to get more under control. We had some crazy experiences and lots of fun with her and her husband and their three kids, and even did some fjord sightseeing and some more touristy-stuff in Bergen, an equally gorgeous city. I started sort of picking up/being able to understand Norwegian too! Awesome. Then it was off to Stavanger on the bus/ferry, but that is another story to be saved until I get some pictures on here!

Ir de compras en la lluvia

The day started out, as usual, looking to be a good one weather-wise. But after doing a bit of shopping (I found the exact brown cardigan I was looking for!) and then downing an entire tub of chocolate ice cream and Chips Ahoys with Sara, the rain began. And now my jeans are soaked. Blah. That's Asturias for you. This evening is the Mariza concert too, starting at 8:30pm, so we're taking the bus at 7pm to give us enough time to get lost. But the issue may be getting back. . . the last bus leaves Gijon at 10:30pm and the next one at 7am. However I do have to be at church tomorrow morning at 11am in Gijon so we'll see how that goes. Maybe I should take a nap now.

Still working on the Europe trip and my few problem spots: Venice, outside of Paris in France, and snorkeling north of Barcelona. But that will probably wait till Monday. I think Sara and I might work on Madrid/Toldeo plans (and me Portugal/Andalusia) tomorrow-- instead of hw as usual. Okay, that's it for now!

Best Cook Ever

Today I have achieved greatness with my omelet. Usually by Friday I can't hardly stand to even look at the leftovers I've been eating all week (or there aren't any), so I must come up with something to cook on my own. And it's usually something with an egg, since we always have them. But today I found pepper to add and I used the tomato pieces that were sitting in vinegar/olive oil from last night, along with a chorizo-type something in the fridge, and some manchego cheese, and it was surprisingly delicious! I should get an award on how to make a meal out of practically nothing. I've been doing pretty well so far. However, the start of class time nears, so I'm off!

Motivation. . . finally!

After a long spout of laziness I've finally been inspired, not to do my hw that was/is due, but to continue work on my two independent study projects. Yesterday I gave a presentation on 'fado,' a traditional type of Portuguese music, for my Portuguese class. We also had an exhibition of Portugal's music, literature, and food that evening, in celebration of the April 25th, 1974 revolution for democracy. Part of the exhibition was a local group of fado singers. During their mini-concert I just wanted to do more research on the origin of fado and current fado singers, etc. Speaking of which. . . I have tickets to Mariza this weekend! She is part of a younger generation of fado singers that are helping fado to gain more recognition and fame, after it was catapulted into the world with fadistas like Amalia Rodrigues. I am really excited, as is my Portuguese buddy Heather (who likes to put yucky pictures of me up on facebook. . .)

Besides fado for excitement, I just attended another immigration discussion on campus. This time it was just one of the speakers from the previous 'Mesa Redonda' (roundtable), Eduardo Romero, specifically talking about immigration to Spain from Africa. Perfect for my honors independent study comparing the historical relationship of the Moors, or Africans, and Spain/Spaniards to the current attitudes and relationships! I even bought his book and intend on finding the first one he wrote. It is titled: Who's invading who?: The 'Plan Africa' and immigration. I am really excited for this now too and have his email address to ask any more questions.

But now I must get stuff done, since we only have about three weeks left of classes. YES! I mean. . oh darn, I have to leave Spain, the country of smokers, drinkers, and the unambitious. . . sadness. On a side note, I did reorganize my room today so I don't permanently ruin my back nor my computer by hovering near the window for the WiFi. . . so that is better too. And last night at the gym I found 2 euros! Cool. Tonight is combat as well, even more exciting. And lastly, I have been getting up before 8am for two days now. Let's see how long I can make that last. . .

The End is Near. . .

Things we'll miss about Spain
-Flexible schedule (aka wake up at 1pm, being tardy, gym whenever, etc)
-No deadlines (sort of. . . end of the semester?)
-Meals, laundry, cleaning the house. . . done!
-Having tv in Spanish (certainly not the Spanish tv channels)
-Walking ability to any destination
-Spanglish!!
-Mountains and beaches easily accessible/viewable
-Food (some of it, tortilla espanola, cafe con leche, mariscos--seafood)
-And of course, all of our new friends


Estamos hartas de . . .(We're fed up with!)
-The Spaniard 'stare down'
-Rudeness
-Lazy, self-absorbed host siblings/Spaniards in general
-SMOKING!
-Higher costs/No big department stores
-Food-- pork, beans, potatoes
-Living with a family
-Computer labs/printing
-Phones (cards and mobiles. . . )
-Difficult home communication in general
-Importance of drinking

Things we're looking forward to:
-Without a doubt, the unanimously voted, most important thing:
SEEING THE PEOPLE WE LOVE
-Our own bed/house
-CAR! (no more public transportation!)
-Clothes dryer
-Having people over to watch a movie, cook, whatever
-FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! You name it, we want it: cookies, restaurants in general, cook outs (hamburgers--real ones!, hotdogs, smores), Cold Stone, gallon size ice cream containers, milkshakes, Mexican food, Chinese food, all pizza places (Great Plains! Papa John's!) corn on the cob, boneless-skinless-chicken breast, mom's lasagna and spaghetti with garlic bread, Panera soup, baking and cooking our own stuff!

Tut, tut-- looks like rain!

After some gorgeous days, la Costa Verde promises rain again. Sitting at my open window, a crackle of thunder has alerted me to the rain drops, and the need for my umbrella when I head to class soon. Since I'm grabbing whatever WiFi I can get, my laptop and I need to be near (or precariously balancing over the edge of) the window. But it looks like I could have some issues with that now. Oh, and there's the neighbor, taking a quick peek out of her window.

Something smells good in the kitchen, like hamburgers. . . but I doubt it. Here in Spain only one type of meat goes: PORK. And since my host family has some aversion to anything but pork, potatoes, and beans, I've eaten way too much of it. As well as way too many icky parts too. Someone said to me that the Civil War in Spain caused people to value a pig because they could eat for a year from it (including the feet, which I have, to my dislike, tried). They still have pig killing festivals too. One morning during breakfast I happened to see a news story about it, which was unpleasant, though not near as bad as my host sister Raquel telling me how long it would take my host dad's father's body to be cremated. . . Great conversation starter.

Oviedo Ramblings

So I've once again been inspired by Rick Steves, the Europe travel 'guru,' to try blogging as a means of relating my European trials and travels. Currently there have been more trials than actual travels, but I have high hopes for my 2 month long summer plans, which are nearing completion. Wishing now I could be more spontaneous and just travel without reservations, but the stress that would ensue just isn't worth it. So I've spent every free moment (okay, it is an excuse to not do my homework, papers, projects, etc.) looking up info and accomodations.