Flying Home

The trip has been amazing, but I am so ready to be home. Our flight leaves at 12:40, so we were headed to the airport around 9:20. Good thing we left early because the lines were crazy to check in. The metro is so easy to take right under the airport and up into the terminal. Like Rome and other airports in Europe, your flight checks in at certain numbers, so we had to find our spot and get in line. The line was long and it moved so, so slow. It took us upwards of an hour and a half to get checked in. I can’t believe we left on time because there was such a long line behind us and I didn’t see how they could check them all in. Security was pretty smooth and quick and we got to our terminal where they didn’t have much food to eat before boarding. Their airports just don’t have the snack shops or fast food selections which is not much fun when you are hungry. We are flying Air Canada to Toronto and then US Airways to Charlotte and finally Myrtle Beach. The Air Canada plane was super nice and had TVs in the back of each seat! I watched Bride Wars, Hotel for Dogs, Escape to Witch Mountain, He’s Just Not That Into You and about half of Coraline. The food was actually pretty decent, some sort of chicken (the other choice was fish, weird!) and the flight staff was really friendly. The only thing that is annoying is that everything is done in three languages, so announcements go on forever.
Customs is never fun and this was no exception. It took a long while for our luggage to come out and then we went through boarder control where our guy was a butt hole. He was kind of on a power trip and was asking questions and then being very snappy about the answers. He asked how long we had been there, what we had bought, accused us of being cheap and that being the reasons Europeans didn’t like us and so on from there. Next was dropping off our bags and then going through security. I made the mistake of being the only female in my line, so I got chosen for the rub down security check because the person in our line for that was female and she couldn’t check males. So I got rubbed down from head to toe and then my camera bag searched, which I felt bad because there is so much junk and cords in there, but I survived and am looking forward to getting home.

The flight to Charlotte was good, small plane, but good. The weather had been bad up north earlier in the day and Toronto had delays to New York and New Jersey, but nothing about down here. We leave Charlotte to fly through the worst weather ever. I have only been on one flight that was so turbulent I didn't I was getting off until this one. The pilot told us he had flown around some of the bad weather, but we were up close and personal with the lightening and thunder, so I am not sure how far went went away from it. Did you know that lightening glows off the clouds in the sky? Well, it does. It was raining so hard and we were just bouncing around in the air. We finally get the warning that we are descending into Myrtle Beach when we seem to be circling. The pilot came back on to tell us that the weather was too bad on the ground at the airport to land. It took us one other failed attempt before we finally got to land 40 minutes late on the third try. I have NEVER been so glad to be off a plane and on solid ground. It was amazing to see mom and be home. My bed, kitty and hairdryer and hair straightener. It is also extremely exciting to be able to text again!

Madrid

Since I got back, I have been so slack and not updated the parts missing from my trip. And to be honest I am a little rusty! By the time we got in Madrid, I was pretty tired, especially of hauling luggage. We sort of went to the wrong hotel at first, right brand, but wrong location. Madrid has a lot of prostitutes and one hour hotel rentals if you get my drift.

We got in pretty late in the afternoon, so we just wondered a little that evening and found a bike tour for the next morning. Our tour was lots of fun and we really saw so much of the city and got a good idea of the things we wanted to go back to. We visited the Prado Museum which had amazing works by Goya, Velazquez, Dali, Picasso, Miro. There is something to be said about seeing the works in person. I have seen so many of these works in art history classes or on TV, but to see the real thing! We also went to the The Reina Sofia Museum, which is a little more modern and boasts some amazing Dali as well as the highlight for me, Picasso's Guernica. Again I had seen the piece in a class, but to see the real canvas. It is 25 feet wide and 7 feet tall. It commands your attention when you enter the room.

Throughout Europe we have run into a lot homeless people or beggers, gypseys in Paris, etc., but in Madrid we meet The Lazy Beggers. In a word where so many people tend to lie or bend the truth, their refreshing honesty was not what one would expect. They have laptops, sleeping bags, everything they need and they admit to being lazy. They even have a Web site where you can keep up with them and even donate. They were really friendly and we spoke to them ever time we passed going to our hotel.

A must in Madrid is eating at Botin, the oldest resataurant in the world. Fabulous food and a fun atmosphere. The third night we went to see Grease The Musical, but the catch was it was in Spanish. I really do believe that the English version of the soundtrack played in my head. Even though we couldn't understand exactly what they were saying, it is such a classic we knew what was going on. It was weird though because radom parts were in English, like the song "Blue Moon" and then the movie scene, all the titles were English as well as the music the DJ played before the show started.

Our last night we got tickets for a bull fight, which we thought was a must since we were in Spain. With tickets in hand, we catch the metro to the arena. It is like a big concert or something, with concessions and merchandise, though after seeing the fight, I am not sure how anyone could eat there. I just imaginged that it would be more skillful maybe? At first there are 6 matadors to 1 poor bull. Then he gets stabbed twice in the back by this man on a horse, and luckily the horse wears armor because the bull then rams him for getting hit in the back. Then three different matadors stab these stick things in the bulls back and then you have the one on one fight between the bull and the "head" matador. And if the bull starts running at them, they just run and hide behind the wall. The last matador then stabs a sword down the bulls spine to kill it. If they miss a couple times, that is when the crowd gets mad. To sum it up we didn't like it and left after the second bull was killed. There are a total of three bulls killed at each fight. It is something you need to see, but I can bet you won't like it.

That was a weird event to end our trip on, but that was it. One more Champaign Sorbet and then it was time to pack and get ready to go home. I LOVED everything I got to see and do on this trip, but I was sooooo looking forward getting home.

Snap Happy (and the worst sound ever - click and wind)

So each trip I have something that I continuously shoot throughout the whole trip. It has been flowers a lot in the past, fruit, whatever random thing I see and it just sticks. Poor Chelsey has been around for the flowers and us climbing to Timbuktu to get the perfect shoot and just the right flower. Let’s just say I think we got a picture of every flower at Atlantis when we went a few years ago! So this trip it took me a couple stops to figure it out. I guess I sort of happened into what I started shooting and was shooting it before I realized. This trip I have shoot threw things as a style in each city. What I have shoot threw has changed between cities, from gates, fences, doors and windows. It has been an easy task to shoot because there is always something to use in the foreground to frame parts of the city. It has been really interesting using things to frame the main subject and playing with the light to give it just the right look. It sort of became an unconscious thing and I just began shooting in this style without really realizing that I was doing it.

And I guess while I am talking about pictures, I will go on my soap box about how I hate disposable cameras and see no point in their existence. They take awful pictures, especially in dark situations and they make the most obnoxious sound. I can always hear them before I see them. That click and the winding noise. I mean they even have digital disposable cameras and disposable cameras with zoom. Seriously?

Seville Day 2

The second day was much smoother in the city. Even though we had seen a lot on the first day, we decided to go on a bike tour of the city just to get to ride bikes and waste some time. The tour was fun, but it was probably the hardest tour in terms of maneuvering through people. There were only nine people on the tour, which was good because any bigger wouldn’t have been able to move. After the tour we went to the cathedral and the real alcazar, which was a series of palaces and gardens. The cathedral was one of the more memorable ones from the trip and had many side rooms with jewels and great architecture. There was a tower at the cathedral and you could climb the ramps to get to the top. It took almost 40 ramps to get to the top, but the little windows on the way up gave a breeze and offered great views. The style of the real alcazar buildings was amazing. They had a big Arab influence in the construction and so the building really stood out from the Gothic and Gaudi styles of the other things we ha seen. You can’t go to Spain with out seeing the Flamenco, so we got tickets to see the dance performed at the museum dedicated to the dance style. It was interesting to see, but gave you a headache because there was a lot of stomping. It was sort of a mix between Stomp, clogging and bad dance recital costumes. The two dancers were accompanied by a guitar player and singer, who were good, but were way to into their music and it really wasn't that exciting. The dancers were talented, but their facial expressions were so stupid it was hard to take them seriously.

Seville

Arriving in Seville was interesting because I am assuming we were the last flight of the day because they pretty much locked up as we were exiting. It was out first flight with SpanAir and it was good, but not Aegean Air (they didn’t give snacks!) Our hotel is kind of not in the middle of the city. When the travel agent booked our hotels, we were supposed to be at another one, but she booked this one. I was busy and didn’t really bother with it, but I definitely should have. We have to take the bus into the city and it is just a lot of hassle. Night one we went to Burger King for dinner because it was down the street from the hotel and it had more to offer than the hotel restaurants. Seville is frustrating because the travel books didn’t have much about it before we got here and heaven forbid the hotels over here actually have brochures! We got up on Tuesday and headed into the city center. I am sort of embarrassed to say we did the Hop On Hop Off bus! If nothing else, it was a bus to get to various spots in the city with a little information while you ride the bus. We rode around for a while and then got off near the cathedral. They had a walking tour in the afternoon so we grabbed lunch and went on the stroll of the city. It was probably the most inefficient thing because it was one guide who did Spanish and English, so he told the information in one language and then the next, so the tour was twice as long as it would have to have been.
For dinner we stopped at this restaurant that was really gross. Dad has lasagna, but it wasn’t red and I had noodles in tomato sauce with meat and dad said it tasted like garbage. Again, I don’t care what people think, but McDonalds here is amazing. And, you get an extra item: banana sundae, yogurt or apples. Once I thought they had forgotten the banana sundae, but no, they waited until I was finished with my meal! That is service. We had a time finding the bus stop for number 34 and wandered for a while searching. It is light here until like 10 p.m., but it was getting dark because getting your check around here is like flying to the moon and back. We finally find the bus stop, but it goes backwards and we missed our stop because the hotel had not lights and then got off and eventually found out way back.

And the Tony goes to....

Most of you know I am obsessed with Broadway and on this Sunday was the Tony Awards. Chelsey and I went to the show last year and it was more spectacular than you could image. So being six hours ahead we didn’t get the broadcast and all the results weren’t out until 4 a.m., so I couldn’t find out anything until Monday morning. Internet is not an easy thing to find over here. Either it is everywhere or nowhere. So we had seen lots of places that had Internet in Barcelona, but you know how you can never find something we you actually want it? Well, we trekked and couldn’t find any so it was after our tour that we finally got Internet. I was a little surprised by the results and a little disappointed. I have seen Billy Elliot and Shrek and love both of the shows. It is hard to compare shows for things like best musical because they are so different. Billy Elliot tells the story of a boy who wants to dance and the workers strike in London. It is a brilliant work and the boys who play Billy are extremely talented, but to me Shrek is Broadway (the show also has amazing Webisodes at swamptostage.com that give you a behind the scenes look at how they created the show and interviews with the cast). It is spectacular sets, characters, costumes and talent. The show takes the story of Shrek that you know and takes it one step further. The show is quarky and funny, but you fall in love with the characters and their struggles and the happy ending! I was surprised it didn’t take best musical and that Sutton Foster didn’t take best actress. I don’t think donkey was nominated for best supporting actor, but he should have been. It is always a tossup because I was shocked Wicked didn’t win in 2003 when Avenue Q took the top prize. It took me many years to get over the grudge and see Avenue Q and while I love the show and think it is great, I love Wicked and wish it had won. Off my soap box and back to Barcelona….
Our flight to Seville didn’t leave until 5:30, so we had the morning to get a few last minute things in for Barcelona. We had already seen the music palace, but decided to go on the tour. The only disappointment was that you could not take pictures. The music hall was original built for a choir of townspeople that is still around today. The main auditorium has a beautiful stained glass sky light that was of the sun and the decorations on the ceiling, columns and walls were flowers and trees. The sky light actually domes inward and above is another floor that has a glass ceiling that lets the light in so that water doesn’t get in it. The stage has 18 statues of women whose bodies were mosaic with their heads and instruments made of porcelain coming of the wall. In the center of the stage was the organ, with 3,772 pipes. The organ had not be used in more than 30 years when they restored it and also made it electronic, so it can play by remote control. The size of the stage can be enlarged by adding to the end toward the audience, covering up the first two rows of seats. The stage also has risers that can come out to accommodate various size choirs or productions. The facility can hold some dance performances, but with a maximum of two dancers at a time and it also hosts concert versions of operas but they don’t host full versions because the stage has no curtain and can’t accommodate sets or backgrounds. It was built in three years, which is impressive compared to how long they took to build other things. Another intresting thing was that the statues on either side of the front of the stage were constructed of artificial stone so that they did not affect the sound waves from vocals or instruments on the stage.
Another thing that has puzzled me this trip is having to show your passport to switch currency. I have traveled to Europe four times and never show my passport to switch money. Dad and I stood in line at this bank for like half an hour and got up to change money and he asked for a passport. Well, we don’t carry them with us (the pick pockets are bad) and so we couldn’t switch any. And it is not like other people know this and we are out of the loop. The two Americans behind us who needed to do the same thing didn’t have their passports. Here is a travel tip: Even if you plan on switching money once you get to where ever you are going, go there with some currency already. Currency exchange at an airport is highway robbery. AAA charges $12 to exchange up to $1000 or free above that and most banks can send off to get other currencies as well. It makes things much less stressful when you already have money for transportation or food when you first arrive.
After the tour we wander to see a few more of Gaudi’s architectural works before heading to the metro and aerobus to get to the airport. Our flight was on SpanAir, which was night, but not as nice as Aegean Air.

Barcelona day 3

I am behind in writing, so I don’t remember all the details of the day. We choose a couple of museums that were going to be free to visit. I hate to be rude, but staring at art piece after piece gets boring and so not paying doesn’t make you feel guilty for going quickly or bypassing some of the ugly stuff. First we went to the Picasso Museum. It was interesting to see some of his early works and sketches from school and the museum did a great job with the chronology of his life and showing the work while explaining where he was. What the museum lacked was any of the famous pictures you had actually seen before. They didn’t really have any of his works that you knew, but there are some other museums down the road we are going to that should have them. Then we headed to the museum of modern art that was supposed to be free but wasn’t, which was just as well. We then headed to the Park Guell to see the mosaic lizard Gaudi did. It is funny because there are two buildings there that were supposed to be model homes for this community that Gaudi had the idea to build, except when people came to see it, they thought the design was crazy and they weren’t interested, so it is now a park. It has the lizard you see in all the pictures of the city and a beautiful bench that is tiled that overlooks the homes that must be 200 or more feet long. Well of course we start at the far end of the park from where the lizard is so we are tromping around, it’s hot and we really don’t know where we’re going. Heading down hill to where we see crowds I had to fall. It really was inevitable because I hadn’t really fallen this trip. I did scrap my arm on the spiral stairs at the Sagrada Familia, but I caught myself so that really didn’t count. They think that they can just take slippery rocks and stick the uneven ones together and call them stairs. So I slipped on the edge and slide down a couple ones before catching myself and trying to shield my camera from the fall. Of course it made this huge noise and everyone was looking, so I hopped up as quickly as possible. I guess it hurt my pride more than anything, but my tail bone hurt too and luckily I had the sun shield thing on the end of my camera, so it made it safely through the fall as well.
After all that we did find the lizard and the house and got our pictures. We walked up a couple more streets to see some of the other homes Gaudi created and then headed toward the water to grab dinner before calling it a day. We have a few hours in the morning before we journey to the airport for Seville.

Seeing the Sites

In Munich Chelsey and I did Mike’s Bike Tour and online it said that there was one in Barcelona. Actually Mike changed and is now Fat Tire Tours, so when we waited for a bike tour that didn’t exist. So when no one else showed up, we headed out to find Internet to find out about another tour, but couldn’t find that so we ended up finding the Fat Tire office and went on the 4 p.m. tour. That gave us just enough time (four hours) to find the Hard Rock for lunch (we needed some normal food) and wander. Before meeting up for the bike tour, we ran into a group of break dancers who were performing in the plaza. They were amazing and you can see one of them in the photos. We meet up at the new meeting point at 4 p.m. to go on a bike tour. Yea! We had been on tours last year in Prague and Berlin and loved them so we were looking forward to this. The tours always depend on the group. Our group was a little boring, but our guide was fun. The tours go to so many places and you get to see so much of the city you don’t always see walking. We went to the governmental buildings, city park, Olympic park and by Sagrada Familia again.
So probably the funniest thing we learned on the tour was that streaking is completely legal in Barcelona, but there are a few stipulations, so read below to make sure you don’t get arrested.
-You must be completely naked, having a shirt on and no bottoms will get you arrested
-You can’t run up to someone and flash them, you must be naked from a distance at which someone can tell you are naked and I guess have time to try to avoid you
Just a few tips to ensure the streaking goes as smoothly as possible! The tour finishes up and we go to pay and these girls that were backpacking had been on some of the tours in the other cities, but had forgotten their coupon for the 2 euros off. We were hanging around to get some suggestions for restaurants and directions and there were two girls that went to college with the tour guide and another guide that worked for the company there. Our guide said that he couldn’t give her the discount without the coupon and she keep on about it. The other tour guide was very funny and made a comment that it was coming from daddy’s bank account, so what did it matter. I don’t think they heard, but the comment was funny. The girls were very preppie and had been rude throughout the tour, so it was a perfect fit. Well, we found a Mexican restaurant, which was a great find. I mean it wasn’t Burro Loco (if you haven’t been to Burro Loco, you need to come to Myrtle Beach and get their queso dip – amazing!), but it was good.

Year of the Scaffolding

You know how the Chinese have the different animals every year? Well, in Europe this is the year of the scaffolding. I can’t name a country that we have been to, starting with Chelsey and I in London that hasn’t had scaffolding. Tower of London, Versailles, Gaudi’s architecture in Barcelona (multiple locations), Barcelona Cathedral , the Coliseum and many more that are being “restored.” That is quotes because some of these places are constantly being cleaned and they never seem to get finished. So when you see pictures that seem a little odd in the way they were taken, it is probably to avoid scaffolding in the photo (this is not always the case and it may just have been a crappie picture!).

Barcelona

All the flights so far between the cities have been on Aegean Air. I would compare them to our Spirit Air, but they are nicer planes and you get snacks still included. All the seats are leather and your knees don’t hit the seat in front of you. Better yet they run on time and in all the flights we have had on them, none have been late or delayed. Waiting for our baggage, I read a sign and within the European Union countries, you are entitled to monetary compensation if your flight is changed within 14 days of your travel, canceled or delayed for more than six hours. I thought it was interesting that the airlines have someone watching out for the consumer and they are therefore encourage to service the passengers better.
Arriving in Barcelona, we hoped on the bus to the city center and then got the subway to our hotel. Well it really didn’t got that smoothly. We got on the first subway, but ended up at a stop that connected to the tram not the right line we needed and then finally got to the right line and to our stop. What isn’t cool about these metro stops is that they don’t often have escalators or elevators, so luggage gets hauled up and down stairs and this gets old really fast. The afternoon we headed to Sagrada Familia, the work of the great architect Gaudi. The church has been in the works for more than 100 years and is not expected to be completed until 2030, but many here believe it will never be finished. The design is unlike anything you have ever seen for a church. Shapes and forms of nature mixed with religious scenes are depicted through the columns, ceilings and facades of the building. To get a view from the church and a little closer look at the spears, we took the lift up the bell tower and then climbed down the spiral stairs, seeing out through the windows and balconies on the way down. The spiral stairs were extremely steep and they had a hole through the middle, just big enough to fall through. Needless to say, everyone stayed close the wall and held tight to the railing. The views were great, but it was nice to be back to the ground floor. Our journey of the city continued as we wandered toward La Rambla, the big street with everything from restaurants, food markets, shopping, street vendors and street performers, not to mention tons of people. It is such a lively and exciting place. Like many of the other cities thus far, Barcelona has a great metro system that makes it easy to explore the city.

Beach Day

Third day is the charm! Today we got on the bus and rode to Kamari, a beach area about 20 minutes from Fira. Since it was still early morning, we walked around the area and scoped out the restaurants. Since the island is formed from a volcano, the beach has black stones as sand. It takes a bit to get used to and it is a little hot, but neat. There are multiple rock jetties both leading from the beach and also a little ways from the coast. The locals used them as diving boards to swim in the ocean. It is hard getting into the water because it is a little steep and when the stones get wet they are slippery and you sink as you walk in them. The water was way too cold. I can’t ever remember our ocean being that cold. I never got in more than about knee deep because it just wasn’t worth it. What is also interesting is the swim wear or lack there of that you see there. Speedos are popular, but not an attractive alternative for most who worth them. Then there were those wearing bikinis, some of which should not have been wearing them, but if you waited long enough, they would sunbath without their top.
It was a nice, relaxing day in the sun and then we ate lunch at a café that was right on the beach. Heading back into Fira, we got ready for the evening and headed back to Dionysos, the same restaurant we had eaten at the night before. The prices were really reasonable, but better than that the food was amazing. Probably the most memorable meals I have had during the trip. I had spaghetti and dad had meatballs. The staff was friendly and you could actually get your check in a reasonable amount of time. It was almost too good to be true. The island has many great pastry places and I had been eyeing this chocolate cake every time we went by one of them, so we went by there for dessert. The cake was chocolate icing with sprinkles and inside was vanilla cake layered with a chocolate mouse. Yum! Tomorrow is an early morning, flying into Athens then to Barcelona. I will be excited to back in a bigger city with a better transportation system.

Santorini

When you see images of Greece, you are likely seeing pictures from Santorini. An island that is part of the Greek Isles, it is the picturesque location used in such films as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Flying onto the island, you get an ariel view of the c-shaped island formed from a volcano many years ago (now doormat I hope). People make fun of the Myrtle Beach airport, but this really was a small airport with one baggage carousel. We meet up with our hotel transportation and began the trek into town. Arriving at the hotel, the outside was okay looking and the lobby inviting, but the room leaves lot to be desired. There are four twin beds with gross, old bedspreads on them, a tiny bathroom where I almost don’t fit in the shower and it suffocates me because the waster hits me in the fact the whole time and you have to put the key chain for the key in the hole for the electricity, so the air conditioner doesn’t run when you aren’t here. There is also a lovely draping of a fabric piece above the beds and I think the TV is maybe 13 inches (with no English channels, though we did find and E! from May 2008 on earlier).
So we just had to laugh about it because if not you would be miserable the whole time. We began venturing out, but don’t think you are going to get a map. The people here, like in Italy, aren’t very friendly or helpful. Even before getting here it was hard to get information on what to do and see. We spent the evening wondering through the hills and got dinner in time to see the sun set over the Caldera, or volcano area. One of the most irritating things here is trying to get your check. After finishing our meal we waited at least an hour to get our check which we practically had to beg for. Then dad needed to make a phone call so he is talking on the cell phone it’s windy and this old guy at a table too far away to be bothered is yelling for him to keep it down. First off, he was way louder in his request and very obnoxious. I keep my mouth shut or I would have chewed him out because if the idiots would bring out bill we would be more than happy to leave. Next they don’t accept credit cards, which is very stone age and annoying as well. And if we are complaining, I would like the woman behind me to stop puffing on cigarettes the whole we are there. Needless to say it wasn’t a great experience and the food was not great.
Many people make fun of eating at chains when you are abroad, but I have never wanted a McDonalds so much in my life. Safe, consistent, reliable food. We passed one restaurant where they offered the fresh fish of the day. I personally wanted the fish with the flies on it for the extra seasoning. Gross!