TV is still not fixed.
Just off work and entertaining Lona with some attention.
Steph and I went camping in Parksville with her grandparents. We had a lot of fun and it was really nice to get out and enjoy the nice weather. We swam in the Englishmann River, went to Coombs where I got some fudge and went and saw the sand castle contest. Unfortunately it was a short trip and we are home again.
Sleep time.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Wednesday August 26th 1:07 pm
I haven't updated this since April but I am thinking of posting more often as a way to get some boredom out and clue in some family depending on if they still read this or not.
Living on my own now, of course with Stephanie and we are having a great time. We live in a small two bedroom basement flat on Burnaby Mountain. We have a darling six month old kitten named Lona who is an adorable Torbie which if you don't know is a Tortoiseshell and a Tabby mixed.
Some new things that have happened since moving down to the city are that I have a car. It's a 2009 Chevy Aveo in orangish red. You choice it's in between. It's a standard so it provides with endless entertainment and its really fun to drive.
I now own a Mac. It's has a 24" screen which is huge and quite awesome for watching movies and TV shows on when your ancient big screen TV decides to break down and has to be repaired for two weeks.
I got a job at the Hub which is the Staples copy center for all of the province so we deal with Powell River to Kelowna even Whitehorse up in the Yukon. I work with Stephanie but not actually the same shift as I work 11 pm to 7:30 am Sundays to Thursdays. Hub gets the weekends off which is really nice.
We went and saw District 9 last night and it was really good. The first par kind of turned my stomach but the ending was good.
This month we went to the Abbotsford Airshow which was awesome and I loved all the FA-18s. We went to Playland and had a blast for a day. We walked 10 km around Burnaby Lake (was not expecting that lol)
I'll try to post once a day but I am only human.
Living on my own now, of course with Stephanie and we are having a great time. We live in a small two bedroom basement flat on Burnaby Mountain. We have a darling six month old kitten named Lona who is an adorable Torbie which if you don't know is a Tortoiseshell and a Tabby mixed.
Some new things that have happened since moving down to the city are that I have a car. It's a 2009 Chevy Aveo in orangish red. You choice it's in between. It's a standard so it provides with endless entertainment and its really fun to drive.
I now own a Mac. It's has a 24" screen which is huge and quite awesome for watching movies and TV shows on when your ancient big screen TV decides to break down and has to be repaired for two weeks.
I got a job at the Hub which is the Staples copy center for all of the province so we deal with Powell River to Kelowna even Whitehorse up in the Yukon. I work with Stephanie but not actually the same shift as I work 11 pm to 7:30 am Sundays to Thursdays. Hub gets the weekends off which is really nice.
We went and saw District 9 last night and it was really good. The first par kind of turned my stomach but the ending was good.
This month we went to the Abbotsford Airshow which was awesome and I loved all the FA-18s. We went to Playland and had a blast for a day. We walked 10 km around Burnaby Lake (was not expecting that lol)
I'll try to post once a day but I am only human.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
April 7 8:11 am Powell River, BC
I am happy to be home. Nothing has changed much except I will need to get used to things, mainly the size of pop bottles and toilets full of water. I had an amazing trip with my mother and I wouldn't change a thing (maybe to have brought the Spain National team back to our hotel room for personal Spanish lessons) My mother was an excellent travel companion and let me take the reigns and guide us through Europe whether it be backwards or forwards. (I seemed to always be going backwards and never forwards) but we found our way and were amazed with what Europe had to offer. I am going to go city by city and explain what I loved best about each city.
London: London is such a big city, it really grabs hold of you and sucks you in. I loved the fish and chips at Covent Garden. I loved spending almost five hours at the London Zoo, who knew watching a Giraffe being fed bread could be so amusing or wondering if the hippo should look so shiny or looking for the mystical tapirs (never did find them :( )Going to the movies and watching Young Victoria, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Knowing. Watching Fulham vs Hull City at the half way line, right at pitch level. There is too much to go on about, it's just an amazing city with an amazing history and really needs time to explore to its fullest. I really enjoyed going on the Arsenal stadium tour and it was the best of all the ones we had been on.
Edinburgh: What sold me about Scotland was the train ride with National Express to Edinburgh. The Scottish coastline was beautiful and I liked that train ride the best of all the train rides we did. Edinburgh was a beautiful city. The weather was good to us and we had blue skies and sunshine as we explored the museums and walked up the Royal Mile to the Castle. Our first hostel experience was interesting with an old lady with a big radio, a big bag of chips and a big clock. We went on our free tour which was really amusing and gave us background information about buildings we would have just wandered by not knowing that they had any significance. I tried haggis and pork sandwich and it was good. I shared a pint with my mother and learned I am not much of a beer drinker. We learned the valuable lesson that every museum is bound to have a bathroom whether it be the Children's Museum of Edinburgh or the Tate Modern in London.
Glasgow: We didn't spend enough time in Glasgow to have it make much of an impact on us. The colours were bright and it seemed all the children were set free on the streets in mass hoards. We stayed in a nice Euro Hostel, the only complaint would be the fact the fire alarm went off at 1 am. Luckily we did not burn to death, never did find out why that went off just that I do not ever want to hear such a noise in my life. We did manage to get out to see Auntie Chrissie in Uddingston which is about 45 minutes out of Glasgow(something like that and you needed a train) and a little walk from the train station. We brought her hot cross buns and she had already brought some out. We had coffee and talked about her legs and Mom growing up and some cousins I don't know about and some other people. She mentioned Auntie Vickie as a baby and singing a song that made her cry. She thought someone else was going to be with us but it was only us. Unfortunately we had to cut the visit short as it was late and all we wanted to do was get stuck in the dark in Uddingston.
Manchester: We arrived in Manchester by bus because it was much cheaper than a train. It was an annoying experience, the guy I sat next to was really greasy and reminded me of a blond Snape from Harry Potter. Not a good thing. Mom sat next to this man who wasn't wearing shoes the whole ride, that was really gross. The man was travelling with two women and they sat in the back of the bus, taking up five seats to themselves and chatting loudly the whole way. It was super annoying and I think mom wanted to smack them both. We chose a hotel that was a little out of Manchester and after walking a bit we took a cab and boy are we glad we did. Manchester to me wasn't a very exciting city, it had potential but nothing really screamed at me besides the factor of Manchester United and Manchester City. We hit up Old Trafford and went on the stadium tour almost right away and it was not as good as Arsenal but it was good. We went to the Red Cafe afterward and had a nice meal. The till was down when we wanted to pay so we got a free drink, yay for that. We went to Sportcity which is Manchester City's stadium and were disappointed with their megastore because of the shoddy selection of anything and their massive endorsement of Robinho.
Liverpool: A long walk from Lime Street Train station to Anfield road. My directional skills allowed for Anfield to lead us to our hotel but not to account for the distance we would have to travel to get there. One big big hill and lots of road. We stayed at Brian Epstein Hotel (he was the manager of the Beatles) but it was overbooked because Patrick the manager seemed to be short of a few brain cells and we ended up staying at Patrick's house down the road and ended up sharing the room with three guys around my age. Mighty exciting. We went and soaked up the atmosphere of the approaching Liverpool vs Real Madrid match and then watched it from a pub just down the road from the stadium which was so cool because they were singing and it was just a blast to be there. Went to some museums and Goodinson Park but Anfield was the main pull.
Paris: What can I say about Paris? The driving is crazy, the people are different, everything else is lovely. Our hotel was not prime but it was a bed and that's all that counted. The Louvre was amazing, so was the Arc de Triomphe and I totally recommend going up it, its a lovely view on a good day.Versailles was another amazing experience and I recommend going maybe in June, to beat the crowds and get the lovely gardens hopefully in their glory.
Barcelona: I am in love with Barcelona. It is such a wonderful city and it offers you so much. I love Gaudi and La Sagrada Familia and going up it was such an experience, I have never felt more scared or thrilled all at once. I will definitely go back to Barcelona, the weather, the people, everything was so nice and it definitely needs more exploring.
Valencia: Valencia had a lot of hidden surprises for us that we would not have expected. Just going down an alley way in Valencia would lead you to some marvel and then another. It was opening doors for us into their way of life. We were awed by Fallas and the fact that they spend hours and hours and thousands of dollars on these masterpieces and then just burn them all. It was hard to wrap our minds around this all and we loved everything we saw. I really enjoyed going to the beach and can't imagine how packed it would be in the full swing of summer.
Madrid: Madrid is a big city. Not as big feeling as London or Paris but it is still a capital and you get that from it. I really enjoyed the Spain vs Turkey game and to see familiar faces like Xavi, Gerard Pique and Juan Mata who I have watched before live was really cool. The bullfight was a disappointment, I guess we just thought it was going to be what you know, bullfights are. A mistake but an experience that I won't forget.
London: London is such a big city, it really grabs hold of you and sucks you in. I loved the fish and chips at Covent Garden. I loved spending almost five hours at the London Zoo, who knew watching a Giraffe being fed bread could be so amusing or wondering if the hippo should look so shiny or looking for the mystical tapirs (never did find them :( )Going to the movies and watching Young Victoria, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Knowing. Watching Fulham vs Hull City at the half way line, right at pitch level. There is too much to go on about, it's just an amazing city with an amazing history and really needs time to explore to its fullest. I really enjoyed going on the Arsenal stadium tour and it was the best of all the ones we had been on.
Edinburgh: What sold me about Scotland was the train ride with National Express to Edinburgh. The Scottish coastline was beautiful and I liked that train ride the best of all the train rides we did. Edinburgh was a beautiful city. The weather was good to us and we had blue skies and sunshine as we explored the museums and walked up the Royal Mile to the Castle. Our first hostel experience was interesting with an old lady with a big radio, a big bag of chips and a big clock. We went on our free tour which was really amusing and gave us background information about buildings we would have just wandered by not knowing that they had any significance. I tried haggis and pork sandwich and it was good. I shared a pint with my mother and learned I am not much of a beer drinker. We learned the valuable lesson that every museum is bound to have a bathroom whether it be the Children's Museum of Edinburgh or the Tate Modern in London.
Glasgow: We didn't spend enough time in Glasgow to have it make much of an impact on us. The colours were bright and it seemed all the children were set free on the streets in mass hoards. We stayed in a nice Euro Hostel, the only complaint would be the fact the fire alarm went off at 1 am. Luckily we did not burn to death, never did find out why that went off just that I do not ever want to hear such a noise in my life. We did manage to get out to see Auntie Chrissie in Uddingston which is about 45 minutes out of Glasgow(something like that and you needed a train) and a little walk from the train station. We brought her hot cross buns and she had already brought some out. We had coffee and talked about her legs and Mom growing up and some cousins I don't know about and some other people. She mentioned Auntie Vickie as a baby and singing a song that made her cry. She thought someone else was going to be with us but it was only us. Unfortunately we had to cut the visit short as it was late and all we wanted to do was get stuck in the dark in Uddingston.
Manchester: We arrived in Manchester by bus because it was much cheaper than a train. It was an annoying experience, the guy I sat next to was really greasy and reminded me of a blond Snape from Harry Potter. Not a good thing. Mom sat next to this man who wasn't wearing shoes the whole ride, that was really gross. The man was travelling with two women and they sat in the back of the bus, taking up five seats to themselves and chatting loudly the whole way. It was super annoying and I think mom wanted to smack them both. We chose a hotel that was a little out of Manchester and after walking a bit we took a cab and boy are we glad we did. Manchester to me wasn't a very exciting city, it had potential but nothing really screamed at me besides the factor of Manchester United and Manchester City. We hit up Old Trafford and went on the stadium tour almost right away and it was not as good as Arsenal but it was good. We went to the Red Cafe afterward and had a nice meal. The till was down when we wanted to pay so we got a free drink, yay for that. We went to Sportcity which is Manchester City's stadium and were disappointed with their megastore because of the shoddy selection of anything and their massive endorsement of Robinho.
Liverpool: A long walk from Lime Street Train station to Anfield road. My directional skills allowed for Anfield to lead us to our hotel but not to account for the distance we would have to travel to get there. One big big hill and lots of road. We stayed at Brian Epstein Hotel (he was the manager of the Beatles) but it was overbooked because Patrick the manager seemed to be short of a few brain cells and we ended up staying at Patrick's house down the road and ended up sharing the room with three guys around my age. Mighty exciting. We went and soaked up the atmosphere of the approaching Liverpool vs Real Madrid match and then watched it from a pub just down the road from the stadium which was so cool because they were singing and it was just a blast to be there. Went to some museums and Goodinson Park but Anfield was the main pull.
Paris: What can I say about Paris? The driving is crazy, the people are different, everything else is lovely. Our hotel was not prime but it was a bed and that's all that counted. The Louvre was amazing, so was the Arc de Triomphe and I totally recommend going up it, its a lovely view on a good day.Versailles was another amazing experience and I recommend going maybe in June, to beat the crowds and get the lovely gardens hopefully in their glory.
Barcelona: I am in love with Barcelona. It is such a wonderful city and it offers you so much. I love Gaudi and La Sagrada Familia and going up it was such an experience, I have never felt more scared or thrilled all at once. I will definitely go back to Barcelona, the weather, the people, everything was so nice and it definitely needs more exploring.
Valencia: Valencia had a lot of hidden surprises for us that we would not have expected. Just going down an alley way in Valencia would lead you to some marvel and then another. It was opening doors for us into their way of life. We were awed by Fallas and the fact that they spend hours and hours and thousands of dollars on these masterpieces and then just burn them all. It was hard to wrap our minds around this all and we loved everything we saw. I really enjoyed going to the beach and can't imagine how packed it would be in the full swing of summer.
Madrid: Madrid is a big city. Not as big feeling as London or Paris but it is still a capital and you get that from it. I really enjoyed the Spain vs Turkey game and to see familiar faces like Xavi, Gerard Pique and Juan Mata who I have watched before live was really cool. The bullfight was a disappointment, I guess we just thought it was going to be what you know, bullfights are. A mistake but an experience that I won't forget.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Day 34 12:00 pm London
I cannot believe that it is our last day. It feels like we haven't even started but I am ready to go home. We have had such a good time and can't wait to show everyone all our photos.
We are so happy to be back in a place where everyone speaks English, we had a melt down at Charles de Gaulle yesterday when the men with the big guns would not let us go to the RER trains. We did not know they were there because of the bomb threat, we just new they had big guns and were not letting us or anyone else through. Mom's anger turned to "DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?!" pretty fast much to my dismay. We got on the train anyways and spent the rest of Paris at Gare dun Nord, hating gypsies and eating ice cream.
Today we are off to Arsenal for one last go about and then to the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as the Science Museum.
Last night we watched Knowing and I have perfected the turtle in shell affect with my Barcelona sweater. Really good movie.
Oh and Steph, Twilight movie night with my mother when we get back, she wants to watch it, lol. So happy you got the package, don't shake too much. I can't remember what all is in there.
We are so happy to be back in a place where everyone speaks English, we had a melt down at Charles de Gaulle yesterday when the men with the big guns would not let us go to the RER trains. We did not know they were there because of the bomb threat, we just new they had big guns and were not letting us or anyone else through. Mom's anger turned to "DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?!" pretty fast much to my dismay. We got on the train anyways and spent the rest of Paris at Gare dun Nord, hating gypsies and eating ice cream.
Today we are off to Arsenal for one last go about and then to the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as the Science Museum.
Last night we watched Knowing and I have perfected the turtle in shell affect with my Barcelona sweater. Really good movie.
Oh and Steph, Twilight movie night with my mother when we get back, she wants to watch it, lol. So happy you got the package, don't shake too much. I can't remember what all is in there.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Day 32 9:02 pm Madrid
Today we woke up and had coffee in a nice square just outside Plaza Mayor before hitting the metro and making an attempt to get to our new hotel that we are spending the night in so we can wake up bright and early to catch our flight to Paris. We ended up taking a taxi which was good because the bus was not so good for luggage it turned out.
We got there anyways and our room is huge and nice. We went back into Madrid to go to Vicente Caulderon and I was disappointed with their lack of stuff I wanted to buy. I got a shirt which is cool and a Luis Garcia photo before we went back to Santiago Bernabeu just to get that Raul postcard and in order to get him I had to buy all these others so Stephanie some how gets two Cannavaro postcards instead of a 8 euro keychain (I refused to pay that much for a keychain, sorry!)
We went for coffees and then spent a glorious eight minutes in these massage chairs. They were just amazing.
Wanted to go to this museum....Thysson something (lazzzinesss) but ha it was closed cause it was Monday, silly us. We went to the park again because it was sunny and walked around the boating lake and saw these very nice old people feeding the stray cats of the park. We went to Palace Valazquez and the Crystal Palace where we saw Black Swans! We had seen them at the London Zoo but these two were just supping it up with some ducks.
We then had Australian Bacon burgers and hit the road home on the busses which are a lot like our buses that go to Vancouver and back, ha ha. Hotel now. :D
Tomorrow we hit three capital cities in one day. Madrid. Paris. London. Cool.
We got there anyways and our room is huge and nice. We went back into Madrid to go to Vicente Caulderon and I was disappointed with their lack of stuff I wanted to buy. I got a shirt which is cool and a Luis Garcia photo before we went back to Santiago Bernabeu just to get that Raul postcard and in order to get him I had to buy all these others so Stephanie some how gets two Cannavaro postcards instead of a 8 euro keychain (I refused to pay that much for a keychain, sorry!)
We went for coffees and then spent a glorious eight minutes in these massage chairs. They were just amazing.
Wanted to go to this museum....Thysson something (lazzzinesss) but ha it was closed cause it was Monday, silly us. We went to the park again because it was sunny and walked around the boating lake and saw these very nice old people feeding the stray cats of the park. We went to Palace Valazquez and the Crystal Palace where we saw Black Swans! We had seen them at the London Zoo but these two were just supping it up with some ducks.
We then had Australian Bacon burgers and hit the road home on the busses which are a lot like our buses that go to Vancouver and back, ha ha. Hotel now. :D
Tomorrow we hit three capital cities in one day. Madrid. Paris. London. Cool.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Day 31 8 10 pm Madrid
Madrid is lovely but very cold. I haven´t been able to use my computer because of internet access issues so am using the hostel one. It rained yesterday but ended just before we went to the game which was perfect timing. Oh the game was lovely. We had really good seats and I was so happy to see Xavi and Iker, I was like a rabid fan girl. They won 1-0 and it was by Gerard Pique! I have hugged that man, well glomped I guess.
Um what did we do in Madrid since we arrived, we went to Santiago Bernabeau and I got my new Spain jersey with Xavi on the back which caused me a lot of attention for the rest of the day and the next morning.
We went to El Prado and it was lovely before hitting up the park and botanic gardens, only found one cat where as the botanic gardens in Valencia had all these poor little abandoned kitties that ate our lovely bread which was really good Steph. It was really good, like cinnabun crossed with hot cross bun and on crack.
Uh we went to Reina Sofia and saw Guernica before all the art seemed to blend together and we hit the road in the rain only to come across this big protest going up Calle Atocha, it was crazy.
After that was the game which as I might have mentioned was amazing.
Today it was a cold day and we woke up and went and picked up our tickets for the bull fight before going to Vicente Calderon which was closed cause it was Sunday, silly religiousness...bah. After that we went to the bullfight which I must say was a very interesting experience. We stayed for one third of it, so basically the first bullfight of three. It will be my first and only bullfight and we will leave it at that.
Bed soon, I am exhausted. Tomorrow we go to our other hotel closer to the airport. We fly to Paris on the 31st before taking the train to London , have a day in London before heading home. Can´t wait.
Um what did we do in Madrid since we arrived, we went to Santiago Bernabeau and I got my new Spain jersey with Xavi on the back which caused me a lot of attention for the rest of the day and the next morning.
We went to El Prado and it was lovely before hitting up the park and botanic gardens, only found one cat where as the botanic gardens in Valencia had all these poor little abandoned kitties that ate our lovely bread which was really good Steph. It was really good, like cinnabun crossed with hot cross bun and on crack.
Uh we went to Reina Sofia and saw Guernica before all the art seemed to blend together and we hit the road in the rain only to come across this big protest going up Calle Atocha, it was crazy.
After that was the game which as I might have mentioned was amazing.
Today it was a cold day and we woke up and went and picked up our tickets for the bull fight before going to Vicente Calderon which was closed cause it was Sunday, silly religiousness...bah. After that we went to the bullfight which I must say was a very interesting experience. We stayed for one third of it, so basically the first bullfight of three. It will be my first and only bullfight and we will leave it at that.
Bed soon, I am exhausted. Tomorrow we go to our other hotel closer to the airport. We fly to Paris on the 31st before taking the train to London , have a day in London before heading home. Can´t wait.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Day 28 9:54 pm Valencia
Last day and boy must I say it was a good one. We went to the market which is full of stalls with fruit, spices, vegetables, meat, fish, everything. You just go around and point and ask and get. It´s really cool and amazing. The meat aspect makes me kind of laugh because they are all very close and its all competition, it would be like all the meat departments in Powell River working in front of each other. How do you choose which is best to get your meat from.
We had amazing coffee outside of the market. So good. Spanish coffee is really strong even with the milk.
We went from there to go see the stadium which was still being built so it was kind of a waste of time but whatever, there is a mysterious cool looking stadium that we never found.
After that we headed down the big avenue and were going to go to the Fallas museum but it closed for siesta time so we had to wait two and a half hours. We were in the City of Arts and Sciences part of Valencia so we admired them and then went to this mall like area and had pizza in this restaurant, after wasting time we wandered back to the museum a little early and it was still not open biuut all these elderly people and this school bus full of kids had shown up so we put it off and decided we would go back later because we did not want any pushy Spanish grannies knocking us over or loud kids so we walked across the street and found Gulliver!
They have this big playground made up of Gulliver from Gulliver´s Travels, its full of ropes to climb up his legs and slides to go down his sides and shoes and hair and staircases to climb all over him. Its really cool and really big and we didnt even know it was there, we just wandered into the park.
We went to the fallas museum after having some fun in the park and we are so glad we did and so glad we waited because it was amazing, to think that all the amazing sculptured charicatures in there were saved from being burnt, it amazes me and makes me wonder what ones have been burnt. They are so detailed and just incredible creations, its almost like taking all the works in an art gallery and setting them on flame after letting people admire them for just a little bit.
We really enjoyed our visit and walked all the way back and decided to look for food and to go to the other tower. We got to the tower and it looked exactely like the other one so we decided against climbing it and walked down this alley way and came apon these big huge doors and peeked inside to find the Corpus Cristi museum and again were amazed. I will never be able to understand how it is possible to just wander down one alley and be able to find something wonderful. We are constantly being surprised by Valencia. There were these HUGE wooden figures that people control and parade around with and these hug amazingly sculpted wooden floats. We are so happy that we were able to do that and seeing the Fallas museum and then this was just wow.
One day I will go to Fallas because it is just intriguing.
Tomorrow to Madrid at 11:25 am. Can´t wait.
We had amazing coffee outside of the market. So good. Spanish coffee is really strong even with the milk.
We went from there to go see the stadium which was still being built so it was kind of a waste of time but whatever, there is a mysterious cool looking stadium that we never found.
After that we headed down the big avenue and were going to go to the Fallas museum but it closed for siesta time so we had to wait two and a half hours. We were in the City of Arts and Sciences part of Valencia so we admired them and then went to this mall like area and had pizza in this restaurant, after wasting time we wandered back to the museum a little early and it was still not open biuut all these elderly people and this school bus full of kids had shown up so we put it off and decided we would go back later because we did not want any pushy Spanish grannies knocking us over or loud kids so we walked across the street and found Gulliver!
They have this big playground made up of Gulliver from Gulliver´s Travels, its full of ropes to climb up his legs and slides to go down his sides and shoes and hair and staircases to climb all over him. Its really cool and really big and we didnt even know it was there, we just wandered into the park.
We went to the fallas museum after having some fun in the park and we are so glad we did and so glad we waited because it was amazing, to think that all the amazing sculptured charicatures in there were saved from being burnt, it amazes me and makes me wonder what ones have been burnt. They are so detailed and just incredible creations, its almost like taking all the works in an art gallery and setting them on flame after letting people admire them for just a little bit.
We really enjoyed our visit and walked all the way back and decided to look for food and to go to the other tower. We got to the tower and it looked exactely like the other one so we decided against climbing it and walked down this alley way and came apon these big huge doors and peeked inside to find the Corpus Cristi museum and again were amazed. I will never be able to understand how it is possible to just wander down one alley and be able to find something wonderful. We are constantly being surprised by Valencia. There were these HUGE wooden figures that people control and parade around with and these hug amazingly sculpted wooden floats. We are so happy that we were able to do that and seeing the Fallas museum and then this was just wow.
One day I will go to Fallas because it is just intriguing.
Tomorrow to Madrid at 11:25 am. Can´t wait.
Day 28 10:34 am Valencia
Today we are heading to the central market to get this bread that is like a massive hot cross bun on crack and covered in sugar. It is so good and I cannot wait. The markets are crazy here and I want to buy some things.
We are going to walk to Valencia CF´s new stadium and check it out and then from there to the train station to get ourselves tickets for Madrid and then to the Fallas museum. I am really sad we missed it so one day I must be here for Fallas to check out all the dresses and everything.
Don´t really know what else is on the agenda, just to enjoy the weather in our last week and hope that Madrid is just as cool as Valencia and Barcelona have been.
PS That´s so cute about Oscker and Shad, we have been looking everywhere for Oscr the grouch to no luck. They have Bert and Ernie but no Oscar. Booo. We´ll keep trying.
We are going to walk to Valencia CF´s new stadium and check it out and then from there to the train station to get ourselves tickets for Madrid and then to the Fallas museum. I am really sad we missed it so one day I must be here for Fallas to check out all the dresses and everything.
Don´t really know what else is on the agenda, just to enjoy the weather in our last week and hope that Madrid is just as cool as Valencia and Barcelona have been.
PS That´s so cute about Oscker and Shad, we have been looking everywhere for Oscr the grouch to no luck. They have Bert and Ernie but no Oscar. Booo. We´ll keep trying.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Day 27 8:20 pm Valencia
Woke up this morning to the lovely noise of construction happening in the streets. Not such a nice noise at all.
Left the hostel and walked towards the train station and past the bullfighting ring and all the way "walking for miles out of the city" to get to Harley Davidson Valencia where we met this guy named Joe from Montreal who have us the Spanish two cheek kiss and we talked to him for a little bit. His friend the macho Spaniard in leathers was all WTF because he probably couldn´t understand us. I got dad a shirt, so hopefully he will like that whenever I see him in the future. :p
Mom was smiling from ear to ear and we walked back to the train station and asked where the post office was and we managed to get an answer and directions on a map. (Went into the wrong tourism office yesterday asking for the post office and they blew us off and told us to go find a Valencia tourism office, it was major WTF meanness cause all they had to tell us was where the post office was) Anyways the post office is this HUGE building that we have walked past every day and taken photos of during the day and at night. Felt liked idiots, we blew off the package idea and smacked ourselves at our blindness.
After that we had paella which mom keeps pronouncing it Papaya which is really annoying. It was really good and different. We ate at this Cafe & Te place that we had breakfast at earlier in the day. The coffee was really good. Then after that we went to Oceanografic which is the big huge aquarium and it was really cool. I wish Stephanie had been there to tell me interesting facts about the sharks. It was so cool to walk under the tunnels and see them swimming overhead. The sharks and the walruses and the dolphin show were my favorites. I don´t really like dolphins but when they do cool tricks they are pretty neat. The walruses were amazing, could have watched them forever, there was a big bull and a female and they kept wrestling and mauling each other.
It was another beautiful sunny day but a little colder with some wind and we had dinner at Burger King with Charlie/Stubs/Caballo/Stubbie which is the toy horse with no legs and no tail that I found on the street yesterday. He´s my friend.
Tomorrow to the Fallas Museum and another big tower. Adios!
Left the hostel and walked towards the train station and past the bullfighting ring and all the way "walking for miles out of the city" to get to Harley Davidson Valencia where we met this guy named Joe from Montreal who have us the Spanish two cheek kiss and we talked to him for a little bit. His friend the macho Spaniard in leathers was all WTF because he probably couldn´t understand us. I got dad a shirt, so hopefully he will like that whenever I see him in the future. :p
Mom was smiling from ear to ear and we walked back to the train station and asked where the post office was and we managed to get an answer and directions on a map. (Went into the wrong tourism office yesterday asking for the post office and they blew us off and told us to go find a Valencia tourism office, it was major WTF meanness cause all they had to tell us was where the post office was) Anyways the post office is this HUGE building that we have walked past every day and taken photos of during the day and at night. Felt liked idiots, we blew off the package idea and smacked ourselves at our blindness.
After that we had paella which mom keeps pronouncing it Papaya which is really annoying. It was really good and different. We ate at this Cafe & Te place that we had breakfast at earlier in the day. The coffee was really good. Then after that we went to Oceanografic which is the big huge aquarium and it was really cool. I wish Stephanie had been there to tell me interesting facts about the sharks. It was so cool to walk under the tunnels and see them swimming overhead. The sharks and the walruses and the dolphin show were my favorites. I don´t really like dolphins but when they do cool tricks they are pretty neat. The walruses were amazing, could have watched them forever, there was a big bull and a female and they kept wrestling and mauling each other.
It was another beautiful sunny day but a little colder with some wind and we had dinner at Burger King with Charlie/Stubs/Caballo/Stubbie which is the toy horse with no legs and no tail that I found on the street yesterday. He´s my friend.
Tomorrow to the Fallas Museum and another big tower. Adios!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Day 26 10:24pm Valencia
I skipped a day but nothing really happened except we left Barcelona on the train and went to Valencia and hauled our backpacks all the way to Home Backpackers which is very nice, we shared the room with two German girls.
Today we woke up and went to try and find Harley Davidson Valencia only to get majorly lost (well not where the store is but where I thought it would be) and ended up seeing the tail end of the dismantalling of the biggest virgin mary head I have ever seen. Which is desplayed on the right. We missed Fallas by a few days and that is the biggest celebration in Valencia, they all dress up in these amazing dresses and have parades, its pretty crazy. We saw a dress in El Ingles Cortes for only a small sum of €1300. It shocked mom at just how different things were.
Off to the beach though, it was really hot and then got a bit overcast but that didnt stop the beach from being wonderfully beautiful and I went in, it was very flat so I never actually got deeper than my hips but dove in anyways and that was nice.
After seeing a horrific old man in a tiny blue thong like speedo, we went off to Valencia CF´s stadium at Mestalla.
Dinner at Hollywood. Tomorrow we hope to find some Paella.
I´m sorry about the phone card Stephanie, it just doesn´t look like its going to happen any time soon.:(I´ll be home soon. I can´t wait to sleep over with you for like a week straight, ha ha. Miss you so much and keep your chin up.
Day 26 1:19 pm Valencia
Valencia is really pretty and realy hot. Going to the beach now. Will post more later when I have more time and patience.
Thanks so much Auntie Vickie, you are a life saver!!!!
Thanks so much Auntie Vickie, you are a life saver!!!!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Day 24 10:17 pm Barcelona
OMG the game was amazing!! We were really high up but it was still so good and the supporters were crazy and we did the wave and I still can't get over it.
The final score was 6-0 for Barcelona, they totally dominated and crushed Malaga. Andres got hurt though so I wont see him in Madrid :(
I can't even put into words how cool it was to be there.
Valencia tomorrow.
Auntie Vickie can you please post here when you send the thing away or if there is any problems.
PS Spanish guys are really hot. So pretty.
The final score was 6-0 for Barcelona, they totally dominated and crushed Malaga. Andres got hurt though so I wont see him in Madrid :(
I can't even put into words how cool it was to be there.
Valencia tomorrow.
Auntie Vickie can you please post here when you send the thing away or if there is any problems.
PS Spanish guys are really hot. So pretty.
Day 24 11:03 am Barcelona
Church bells are ringing. Its another beautiful day in Barcelona, okay I lied its our first not that sunny day but the weather can still change.
Barcelona game tonight, so excited. I am almost frothing with excitement but its not for this game. Its for another game because OMG OMG.
I AM GOING TO SEE SPAIN PLAY TURKEY. THE SENIOR SPAIN TEAM. IKER! XAVI! ANDRES! OMG I AM SO EXCITEDDDDDD.
That game is on the 28th in Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu. Gah!!!! *froth*
Barcelona game tonight, so excited. I am almost frothing with excitement but its not for this game. Its for another game because OMG OMG.
I AM GOING TO SEE SPAIN PLAY TURKEY. THE SENIOR SPAIN TEAM. IKER! XAVI! ANDRES! OMG I AM SO EXCITEDDDDDD.
That game is on the 28th in Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu. Gah!!!! *froth*
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Day 23 8:56 pm Barcelona
Went to breakfast at the hotel buffet which was really good. A little trouble with the waitress but not really much of an issue. After breakfast we were off to Santa Maria to see Camp Nou where we went on the tour. It was a little disappointing because we did not get to go in the change room and had an audio guide. The whole thing was not very well organized and there were swarms of people but the stadium was so cool inside and I cannot wait for tomorrow night.
After the stadium tour we went to the shop again and I got a Barca Toons calendar, he he. I am such a child. After that we went to the Pista de Gel aka the hockey rink and watched the FC Barcelona hockey team play against C.G.Puigcerda. The final score was 7-6 for Puigcerda. It was really fun to watch in the last period and I am glad we stayed to watch it all. It was a little bit of home, anyways. The hockey rink was smaller than the Kings rink which was a bit shocking but the crowd was cool. It was like a whole bunch of singing and drums.
Went and saw Casa Batllo and Casa Amatller which are very cool buildings and you should google them to get an idea of what they look like.
We went for dinner at a really fancy McDonalds because we cannot get enough of these Mexican Guacamole burgers, they are so good!
We went to the Palau de la Catalana which was all lit up because it was night. Very pretty.
Tomorrow is the game, so so excited!
After the stadium tour we went to the shop again and I got a Barca Toons calendar, he he. I am such a child. After that we went to the Pista de Gel aka the hockey rink and watched the FC Barcelona hockey team play against C.G.Puigcerda. The final score was 7-6 for Puigcerda. It was really fun to watch in the last period and I am glad we stayed to watch it all. It was a little bit of home, anyways. The hockey rink was smaller than the Kings rink which was a bit shocking but the crowd was cool. It was like a whole bunch of singing and drums.
Went and saw Casa Batllo and Casa Amatller which are very cool buildings and you should google them to get an idea of what they look like.
We went for dinner at a really fancy McDonalds because we cannot get enough of these Mexican Guacamole burgers, they are so good!
We went to the Palau de la Catalana which was all lit up because it was night. Very pretty.
Tomorrow is the game, so so excited!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Day 22 7:17 pm Barcelona
Score for getting an adaptor and the internet working in the room.
What a day! Back to the hotel earlier than usual but maybe that is a good thing. We are tired. Sorry for not mentioning the weather much. We only experienced snow and hail in Glasgow and in Manchester. Besides that it has been sunny since. In Barcelona we are enjoying t-shirts and walking around sweating our buns off(well mainly when we decided to hike Guell Parc in the morning sun), the Spaniards however are all bundled up in their jackets and scarves, making us sweat just looking at them.
We woke up when the maid opened the door, ha ha. Serves us right for sleeping in again, we enjoyed the buffet breakfast and it was really good. We are really spoiling ourselves here.
Off to Valcarca to the metro and to Sagrada Familia, oh it was so beautiful. I had to explain to mom that it was still not being built because she kept thinking it was being restored. It is amazing how big it is and we paid to go inside and we loved the stain glass inside, it followed the mosaics of Gaudi's other works and was just mind blowing. We wanted to go up to the tours and after a little wait we got an elevator up and boy are we glad we did. It was so beautiful and just amazing. I have never been more afraid of heights though. You are so high up! It was like the eiffel tower minus the big netting keeping you in, it was just a stone railing and some metal bars before you got into the tower to make your way down the stairs which went round and round.
McDonalds for lunch, ha ha. Right across the street from it. I got pop spilt on me :( So not nice.
After that we went to the FC Barcelona store in the area and got some things like my new red sweater which totally clashed with my yellow purse but whatever, I am Ronald McDonald on crack. We went from there to the (beach) to the marinas and walked around before spending more money in another FC Barcelona store. Saw the Amadeus yacht (google it, the boat is big) Walked up La Rambla which was full of people and markets and stalls with little turtles and ducks and everything.
Back to the hotel and are about to go for dinner. ;p
What a day! Back to the hotel earlier than usual but maybe that is a good thing. We are tired. Sorry for not mentioning the weather much. We only experienced snow and hail in Glasgow and in Manchester. Besides that it has been sunny since. In Barcelona we are enjoying t-shirts and walking around sweating our buns off(well mainly when we decided to hike Guell Parc in the morning sun), the Spaniards however are all bundled up in their jackets and scarves, making us sweat just looking at them.
We woke up when the maid opened the door, ha ha. Serves us right for sleeping in again, we enjoyed the buffet breakfast and it was really good. We are really spoiling ourselves here.
Off to Valcarca to the metro and to Sagrada Familia, oh it was so beautiful. I had to explain to mom that it was still not being built because she kept thinking it was being restored. It is amazing how big it is and we paid to go inside and we loved the stain glass inside, it followed the mosaics of Gaudi's other works and was just mind blowing. We wanted to go up to the tours and after a little wait we got an elevator up and boy are we glad we did. It was so beautiful and just amazing. I have never been more afraid of heights though. You are so high up! It was like the eiffel tower minus the big netting keeping you in, it was just a stone railing and some metal bars before you got into the tower to make your way down the stairs which went round and round.
McDonalds for lunch, ha ha. Right across the street from it. I got pop spilt on me :( So not nice.
After that we went to the FC Barcelona store in the area and got some things like my new red sweater which totally clashed with my yellow purse but whatever, I am Ronald McDonald on crack. We went from there to the (beach) to the marinas and walked around before spending more money in another FC Barcelona store. Saw the Amadeus yacht (google it, the boat is big) Walked up La Rambla which was full of people and markets and stalls with little turtles and ducks and everything.
Back to the hotel and are about to go for dinner. ;p
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Day 21 9:44 Barcelona
Slept in, it was so amazing, just to rest in a nice comfy bed. We left the hotel around ten and walked to a little bakery we had discovered on our route back from the park the night before. We baught this pizza like pastry and then two chocolate croissant type things that were so good.
We went back to Parc Guell and thought it would be nice to eat our breakfast there, boy were we wrong. All the tourists and people swarming all over it was terrible. It is a totally different place in the morning/afternoon then it is at night. When we were there the night before there was maybe nine people or so but it was just swarming with people. Made it quite ugly, we found a slightly quiet spot and ate and fed the pigeons.
After that we walked down to Lesseps and took the metro to Diagnol where we got off and walked all the way down this long street to find the Harley Davidson of Barcelona, only to get there just as it closed at 2 pm. Mom almost killed herself, we had walked all that way and it was closed at 2 pm for two hours. Spanish siesta! All the stores quickly shut around us for about 2-3 hours and we were stuck with nothing. We walked all the way back down to where we started and enjoyed our first Spanish McDonalds. I had the Mexican Guacomole burger which was to die for. It was like salsa and goodness.
After lunch we popped down the road to see Casa Mila! It was just down the road, its crazy to be able to see all this neat architecture. Mom really likes Gaudi, which I am happy about. After that we headed back to the Harley Shop and mother spent so much money. I got a 30€ shirt which I am wearing now.
From there we walked all the way to Camp Nuo which was some how not as impressive as I was imagining.:p No worries, it was still cool. Then we went to the megastore and I was all OMG OMG want want want. I got a two magnets, a pin for Steph, some pens and a pendent of Messi, lol. I got a Xavi jersey OMG. The yellow kit because the blue and red one hates me no matter how much love I give it. I am so happy with the jersey though and I got socks too. Bright yellow socks!!!
We walked some more and then found the metro station and I had to get off and buy this cute yellow purse for 18€. It was so yellow and it called to me from the station so I dragged mom off and went and got it. We continued our journey and I became determined to figure out how to get to the hotel without involving Guell Parc or a cab as it was quite dark. Took the wrong route and knew the jig was up when we ran into another metro station. Ugh Barcelona why are you so confusing. Walked to the bottom of this hill and looked up and saw the bridge we were supposed to go up and everything clicked.
Unfortunately we witnessed the aftermath of someone jumping off said bridge or possibly having a had a heart attack under said bridge. I like the second idea much better than the first. We had been confused by all these police on the bridge and police blocking traffic under the bridge and wondered what was up. Mom wondered if someone had thrown something over the bridge and after a moment we decided to cross and check it out. Unfortunately to find the person at the bottom. Mom did not see him but I saw him and I hope to god that it is not a suicide or anything. It makes me realize just how fragile the world is and how easy it is to lose yourself.
Slumber my darling, bid sorrow adieu, to-night for the fairies, tomorrow for you.
We went back to Parc Guell and thought it would be nice to eat our breakfast there, boy were we wrong. All the tourists and people swarming all over it was terrible. It is a totally different place in the morning/afternoon then it is at night. When we were there the night before there was maybe nine people or so but it was just swarming with people. Made it quite ugly, we found a slightly quiet spot and ate and fed the pigeons.
After that we walked down to Lesseps and took the metro to Diagnol where we got off and walked all the way down this long street to find the Harley Davidson of Barcelona, only to get there just as it closed at 2 pm. Mom almost killed herself, we had walked all that way and it was closed at 2 pm for two hours. Spanish siesta! All the stores quickly shut around us for about 2-3 hours and we were stuck with nothing. We walked all the way back down to where we started and enjoyed our first Spanish McDonalds. I had the Mexican Guacomole burger which was to die for. It was like salsa and goodness.
After lunch we popped down the road to see Casa Mila! It was just down the road, its crazy to be able to see all this neat architecture. Mom really likes Gaudi, which I am happy about. After that we headed back to the Harley Shop and mother spent so much money. I got a 30€ shirt which I am wearing now.
From there we walked all the way to Camp Nuo which was some how not as impressive as I was imagining.:p No worries, it was still cool. Then we went to the megastore and I was all OMG OMG want want want. I got a two magnets, a pin for Steph, some pens and a pendent of Messi, lol. I got a Xavi jersey OMG. The yellow kit because the blue and red one hates me no matter how much love I give it. I am so happy with the jersey though and I got socks too. Bright yellow socks!!!
We walked some more and then found the metro station and I had to get off and buy this cute yellow purse for 18€. It was so yellow and it called to me from the station so I dragged mom off and went and got it. We continued our journey and I became determined to figure out how to get to the hotel without involving Guell Parc or a cab as it was quite dark. Took the wrong route and knew the jig was up when we ran into another metro station. Ugh Barcelona why are you so confusing. Walked to the bottom of this hill and looked up and saw the bridge we were supposed to go up and everything clicked.
Unfortunately we witnessed the aftermath of someone jumping off said bridge or possibly having a had a heart attack under said bridge. I like the second idea much better than the first. We had been confused by all these police on the bridge and police blocking traffic under the bridge and wondered what was up. Mom wondered if someone had thrown something over the bridge and after a moment we decided to cross and check it out. Unfortunately to find the person at the bottom. Mom did not see him but I saw him and I hope to god that it is not a suicide or anything. It makes me realize just how fragile the world is and how easy it is to lose yourself.
Slumber my darling, bid sorrow adieu, to-night for the fairies, tomorrow for you.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Day 20 9¨.30 pm Barcelona
Um hey our hotel is like so nice. Mom keeps thinking there is a pool but there isnt and she loves the bathroom and the room and she just loves it. The hotel is just down all the twisted streets and alleys from Parc Guell which is where we went after checking in and it was so beautiful. Quite scary though at night because dark parks with lots of hills are scary. We are going there tomorrow after we have a nice sleep in which I cannot wait to do.
Not sure what we will do tomorrow, just taking things as they come. Had a lovely pasta dinner in our hotel restaurant.
I actually never thought Barcelona was so sloped in this part. I don´t know what I expected but it wasnt so many hills.
Not sure what we will do tomorrow, just taking things as they come. Had a lovely pasta dinner in our hotel restaurant.
I actually never thought Barcelona was so sloped in this part. I don´t know what I expected but it wasnt so many hills.
Day 20 11:16 am Paris Orly Airport
Bonjour mon amis.
Airports are scary and Paige does not do well in stressful situations like finding check in desks and controlling mother.
We board at 12:05 pm for Barcelona, quite exciting.
Au revoir!
Airports are scary and Paige does not do well in stressful situations like finding check in desks and controlling mother.
We board at 12:05 pm for Barcelona, quite exciting.
Au revoir!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
