Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Hot Cocoa's Vacation Part Two

I am back in Kara's house now from my trip around Europe. Sadly, my winter vacation is basically over. I am just packing/relaxing today and tomorrow morning I will be Moscow-bound. It's been an amazing time here and I really cannot believe it's coming to end. But the bright side is that I am going back to Moscow and it's going to be better than before since I know my way around now.

My first stop was in Palma De Mallorca, Spain. When I first went outside and saw the clear skies and palm trees I knew it was going to be amazing. The hotel I stayed in was pretty decent for the price. The location was amazing as well, a two minute walk from the beach. Kim and I did the tourist thing and saw the huge cathedral and we went to a recreation of old Spanish architecture. One of the highlights from the stay was when I saw the churreria(a churro stand). For those of you who don't know what a churro is, omg you are missing out! It's this fried dough stick sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and it's just so good. I also definitely missed speaking Spanish. In Moscow I really don't have many opportunities to speak Spanish. And speaking of languages, I knew Palma was like a tourist spot for Germans but I didn't realize how much until I got there. I am not kidding, almost every sign for restaurants and stores had German translations. Also, in the hotel I stayed at, like almost every person I ran into was German. But anyways, now to the most amazing part, THE SUN. Sorry but Moscow is not really the place to go if you are trying to soak up those UV rays. Now that it's winter, I rarely see the sun. I know it's sad, but it's the truth haha... Walking along the sea in Palma De Mallorca while the sun was shining and not having the need to wear a sweater or anything was AMAZING. In all honesty, I loved it so much. I really want to live there. I'm definitely putting it on my list.

So my next stop was England. I went to Norwich to visit Maddie and Grace. It was so great to see them both. We got there at night and we headed to the campus pub(WHAT?!?! Love it) to catch up and stuff. The next day Grace and Maddie took Kim and I around the town and it was pretty cool. It was a really nice little English town. I also got to see another person from Dickinson I knew, Flow!!!!! It was really nice seeing her again even though it wasn't for long. The next morning I set off for London to stay for a couple of nights. As I was on the train heading for London I realized that I actually do miss Dickinson. Seeing people back from Dickinson always makes me feel that way. I miss hanging out with them and just seeing them from time to time.
Well, when we got to London, we had to take The Tube to our hostel. I got two words for whoever controls the tube TOO SMALL. I am not kidding, there were several times when we couldn't get on a wagon because there wasn't any room. The wagons and stations are very modern looking but you gotta expand the wagons. We spent the first evening in the Natural Histoy Museum, I'm a total sucker for all that science stuff. The next day we went to Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The National Gallery, and Westminster Abbey. The squirrels at Hyde Park were crazy, like they came right up to you and even follow you, it was pretty funny. If you have ever been to Dickinson, and you think the squirrels there are crazy, you need to go to Hyde Park. One of my favorite parts was walking around Leicester Square and seeing all the theater advertisements. I freaked when I saw an ad for Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Trust, if I would of had 29 pounds I would so gone to see it. Overall, London was cool. But I'm going to be honest and say I really liked it, but I didn't love it. We headed back to Kara's house after London.

At Kara's we just relaxed before our next and final city, Paris. So I've been pretty excited for this trip since forever because Paris is one of the cities that I have wanted to visit since forever. The first night I got there we of course had to visit the Eiffel Tower. I can't even put seeing the Eiffel Tower at night into words, it simply took my breath away. We also went to go see the Arc de Triomphe. The next day we went to the Louvre and spent pretty much the whole day there. We then walked around for a bit at night on the Champs-Elysees. I had a croque monsieur which is this ham sandwich on toasted bread with tons of cheese on top. It was amazing. I actually spent the rest of my money on it haha and it was worth every cent. The last day we made our way to the Sacre Coeur which is pretty much the highest land point in Paris. The view from there was unbelievable and actually rivals the one of the Eiffel Tower at night. On my way up to the Sacre Coeur I was stopped by some guys trying to sell me an hakuna matata bracelet. He told me he was from Kenya and asked me where I was from, I of course told him I was from Spain. He started speaking to me in Spanish and explaining how the bracelet is for good luck and it's also hakuna matata to which I replied "oh yea like the Lion King" and he laughed and said of course. I actually found 30 cents in my backpack the night before and gave it to them telling him that's all I had(which wasn't a lie). He of course wasn't happy but whatevs, I was fine, I got the hakuna matata bracelet. We visited a couple of cemeteries which were really cool and I got to see Oscar Wilde's grave which was a pretty cool one. It was basically this statue of an angel flying but like a ton of people just put on lipstick and kiss the grave, leaving their lip prints. People also write on it and stuff. It was funny since his grave had a plaque telling people to not deface it and how it's punishable by law and all that boring junk. After that we headed to the Latin Quarter and walked around for a bit and saw the Luxembourg Garden, the Pantheon, and the Notre Dame. They were all incredible sights. Also, the metro in Paris is quite good. I would say it's better than The Tube. Paris was an incredible experience, I really wish I could go back or stayed longer. Also, I don't know why there's this stereotype that French people are rude. They were nothing but nice, but I mean I also spoke French the whole time so I think that definitely helped. As I was sitting in my room and getting ready to leave, I thought I started hearing Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. I opened the window and realized someone was playing it loudly from their car and people where singing it was they walked by on the street. I thought at that moment YES this is for me. That was the last sign I needed. Paris is definitely the city for me.

So that's been my little journey through Europe. I return to Moscow tomorrow and I'm actually feeling ready for it. I also want to take this little bit to say thank you to Kara for housing me for a while. You are amazing Kara, <3 And I will be returning to my regular updates from Moscow.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

I Just Want To See The World! Hot Cocoa's Vacation part one

Well... I haven't done one of these since forever but I will try to continue to do what I always do. I'll do my best to provide somewhat of an update of my busy life abroad haha So I guess I should get started.

I arrived in Germany several days before Christmas. On the way to Kara's house there were two things that kept popping into my head 1) OMG Germany is BEAUTIFUL and 2)I need to learn German. Thankfully I know some survival phrases. Not knowing the language made me feel a bit helpless, which I wasn't a big fan of. But of course, I'm a survivor so I can handle it. Kara's house is in a small German town called Bitburg. Her house is really nice and her parents are wonderful people. They've been hosting Kim and I for quite a while. I have seen quite a bit of Germany since I have been here. I have been to Trier which is the oldest city in Germany, used to be a Roman capital. We went when it was time for the Christmas markets which were these stands of amazing food, drink, and Christmas-themed items. It was so incredible! We also went to Manderscheid which is this nice little town with a couple castles. Basically, I'm in love with Germany right now. I could definitely see myself living here for reals. We also took a couple day trips to Bruges and Luxembourg. Both cities were also unbelievable. My favorite so far was Luxembourg, I loved how everything looked. Not to mention, I finally got to practice some of my French in both Bruges and Luxembourg. Bruges was pretty awesome as well. Going up the bell tower is definitely an unforgettable experience. I also got to see some friends on another trip I took in Germany.

I made my way over to Bremen with Kim and Kara where one of my best friends is currently studying. I was thrilled to see him(Braeden) again since I thought I wouldn't see him again until August. Bremen was a nice town. It was really cold and it snowed a bit. I got to see more touristy stuff and took pictures. I need to upload pictures, I know it will get done but I just don't know when. We also went to another town called Bremerhaven which is a port town in the north of Germany. I got to see the North Sea! Well... sort of. I saw the river that leads up to it I guess. The nights were fun and full of us singing in Braeden's room late into the night. Leaving was really sad. But I did have a little taste of what I am about to do tomorrow. I will fly to Palma De Mallarca in Spain with Kim. After a few days I will go to visit my Norwich people and then to see some of London. I will write another blogpost once I am back at Kara's.

So, as I keep seeing more and more of Europe I am starting to like it more and more. Don't worry, I have not forgotten about Moscow. I have my flight back on the 28th so I fully intend on going back to the Third Rome. But I can definitely see myself living in Germany or even Luxembourg. How will I do it? I have no clue but I'm pretty sure it's possible. So... I will definitely update this once I am back and I will tell you all about my Spain and England experiences.