Well, yesterday I got to experience something I never expected and hoped I would never have to experience whilst abroad....a hospital.
On Thursday afternoon, my friend Emily was in High Gate Park (ironic as you'll later learn) enjoying the afternoon. All of the parks here are enclosed and gated at night, and somehow she missed the time the gates were closed, so when she went to leave, her and Anna were locked in the park. Not knowing what to do, but needing to get out, they hopped the wrought iron fence and in the process Emily cut the back of her thigh. She knew it was bleeding, and figured it would stop, but by 10 when the bleeding still wasn't under control Hannah took her to the hospital.
For those of you who don't know, the United Kingdom has the National Healthcare Service- a form of socialized health. In order to be covered by NHS, you must have a visa- working here or staying for longer than six months. Since we aren't working and are only here for 5, technically we are not covered by NHS, so everything must be payed up front by us and then our international health insurance we all have reimburses us afterwards. Other than paying up front, we would be treated the same as any other citizen of the UK.
Anyways, Hannah took Emily to the ER where after a few hours she was waiting on and admitted for the night. According to them, triage is very different here than at home. Everything is done on a waiting list, so even though Em has been continuously bleeding for 5 hours by this point, she wouldn't get taken care of until the people ahead of her did. According to Em's doctor later, you only get to skip the line if you're gonna lose a limb or your life, everything else they deem can wait. Only one person looked at her actual cut- a 2 centimeter deep gash on the back of her thigh, and after seeing the depth and the lack of skin surrounding the lesion, Emily was told she would need to be put under for surgery the next morning.
We went to visit her at 2 on Friday, and when she didn't answer her phone, we figured and hoped it was because she was in surgery. Hannah got a message from Em earlier saying that at 8, the supposed time of her surgery, that it was going to be a few more hours. We got to her room, one she shares with 6 other people, and there was no surgery and no telling of when it would be. Apparently she kept getting bumped down the list as more important cases arrived- frustrating for many reasons, one of the biggest being that they were fasting her for surgery. So as of now, 11 am Saturday morning, the last time she ate was lunch on Thursday. So here she was, watching her 5 roommates eat when she couldn't and the doctors had no idea of when she would be taken in, so didn't let her eat in fear she could be taken care of right away but wouldn't have been fasted.
We were there with her for a good 5 hours Friday, and honestly, I'm so impressed with how she was holding up. She claims she wasn't in that much physical pain, but obviously being in a hospital in a foreign country, not having any communication with her doctors or knowing what is going on will get to you. We learned first hand that you definitely get what you pay for in regards to healthcare. It was amazing how different the service was here than in the United States. In the States, had she come in with that injury, she would be told what day, time and doctor would be taking care of you, and she'd be out of the hospital in no time. Generally in the US the nurses and staff are very friendly, helpful, and check on you often. Not here with NHS. The five hour span we were there, we saw her nurse twice. Her IV ran out and it took 2 hours for her to get a new one, even though she was ringing for assistance. The doctor who finally came in to delivery the news that she would most likely not get surgery on Friday had absolutely no estimation for her of when it would happen. Since she kept getting bumped around on the list, she finally broke down on the doctor when he wouldn't give her a straight answer about anything. Everything was, well maybe, or we'll see- super aggravating. As I mentioned you don't have the luxury of a private or two person room, but additionally they don't have tvs for you or anything like that. Emily was told not to bring her iphone, laptop, anything like that since it's a shared room and the patients have no personal area to put their belongings so essentially the nurse said bring what you wouldn't mind being stolen. The biggest thing we noticed, and most frustrating certainly for me, is that no one seemed to know anything, and always had to consult someone else before giving Emily an answer. It was almost like 2 people at the top of the chain new everything, and everyone else were just cogs in a machine. Even simple questions like, "should my bandage be changed, no one has seen my cut in 24 hours" went unanswered as the nurses had to leave to call doctors to call whoever to find out the answer, often resulting with "I couldn't get a hold of them." Even some of the nurses, especially the one who came in to give her a new IV were extremely rude, it was so different from back at home.
Visiting hours are very strictly from 2-8, so we headed out at the conclusion after getting Em tons of magazines to keep her occupied and the promise of a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts as her first meal post-op.
As we were walking home, Hannah and I were talking about how we're curious is this is how all NHS works, at this slow, unwelcoming pace, or if it was this specific hospital but it's hard to tell. Even in the states I know my Mom has said multiple times that unless I'm dying or needing a cast, she will drive right past Upper Chesapeake to take me to a better hospital in Towson or the city. Was this hospital one of those, or is this the norm?
As of now, 12.30 on Saturday morning, Emily was just admitted into surgery. She was due at 8 am, once again it got delayed, but her lack of responding to texts suggests she's finally taken back. My parents just landed here, so I'm off to see them and then sneak away to get Em her promised donuts and help Hannah get her home from the hospital once she's discharged. Biggest disappointment for Emily? Friday morning she was supposed to be on a plane to Madrid for a 5 night get away. When she told her triage nurse that Thursday night, the nurse assured her she would be taken care of Friday mid-day and could be on a flight Saturday am. Clearly that isn't happening. She's hoping that she'll be able to get a plane tomorrow and stay for the remaining two nights, but it all depends on how the surgery goes and if she can even walk properly.
That's all for this quick update! Gotta go show the fam bam London now!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Brighton!
So this past weekend, Hannah, her friend visiting in town ironically also named Hannah, and I decided to take a spur of the moment day trip to Brighton. For those of you who don't know where/what Brighton is, it's a small beach town on the southern coast of England, about an hour and a half, to two hours driving south of London. By train, our mode of transportation, it only took an hour! Side note: I'm really digging trains now. My first train-that-wasn't-a-subway experience was less than two short months ago, and since then I'm converted. Obviously, the trains for international travel are real nice, but I've since been on many of the National Railway trains in the UK and it's always a pleasant experience. They're so much faster and easier than coaches, while only being a little bit more expensive. For example: our hour long journey tickets to Brighton only cost 18 pounds round-trip, while the 2 hour 15 minute coach was 13 pounds. The train picks us up right in central London and dropped us off smack dab in the middle of Brighton- it was great. Fast, easy and relatively cheap. Had we planned a little better, we could have gotten the 10 pound round-trip rate on the train, but our indecisiveness and spontaneity left us with only the 18 pound ones left.
Anyways, back to facts about Brighton. I knew ahead of time that Brighton is a really popular vacation spot for Londoners and UKers alike, however while there I learned that it has been ranked on of the tep ten beaches in the world!?! Certainly shocked me, but seeing the town as crowded as it was in March, I no longer doubt it. The other unique thing about it is that Brighton has a pebble beach- not sand. I had only been to sandy beaches before, so I didn't know what to expect. The pebbles in Brighton were surprisingly big, maybe four or so average size ones could fit in my open hand with some smaller and some bigger ones. They resembled rocks that would be used for landscaping purposes in a garden or pond.It was really neat to walk on, almost like massaging, not painful like I typically anticipate of walking on tiny rocks.
We started the day walking through the adorable hilly streets of the town before heading to the beach. It was so refreshing walking through town- it almost reminded me of the city of Galway in Ireland. It's a really small, yet colorful town, filled with friendly people and places. Immediately you get struck with a beach town vibe- everyone just casually walks around, nearly every restaurant had a packed outdoor patio with people enjoying a pint, doors to all stores were wide open and welcome. There was a real sense of community there- a very welcomed change from the hustle and bustle of London. While walking around we all agreed we felt like we were in another place entirely, not a mere 60 miles from one of the busiest cities in the world. I felt like I could finally breath fresh air - not the smog filled yuck they call air here.
And then we found the Royal Pavilion. If we didn't feel in another world before, now we certainly did. See what I mean?
Things we learned about the Royal Pavilion? Well, not much because we weren't about to pay 18 pounds to go inside and find out. We did manage to figure out that it was built in the late 1700's as a retreat home for Geogre IV, and clearly it has heavy Indian influences in the architecture. The back part of the pavilion, combined with a theater and the Brighton Dome performance complex, enclose a small yet beautiful park that was packed Saturday afternoon. Lots of young families playing, couples picnicing, and a sitar player to set the mood.
Finally, we couldn't stand smelling the ocean and not seeing it, so we headed for the beach and pier. SO crowded. Granted it was a nice Saturday afternoon, but the beach and pier were packed. I can't imagine how busy summers there are. The beach extended as far as we could see in either direction, divided by a Ferris wheel and the Brighton Pier. The pier was so much fun, very similar to an OC boardwalk, but with far, far less shops. There were only actually four or five souvenir shops, the rest of the pier was rides, games, food vendors, and restaurants. We spent a good portion of the day on this HUGE pier just wandering around, taking pictures of the beach, and convincing London Hannah to ride a mechanical bull. It required a quick outfit swap since she was wearing a skirt, but we got her up there...only for her to fall off literally 2 seconds later. The first round she only lasted 1 second, so she doubled her time!! Atta girl Hannah!! I also had my first "99 cone" on the pier. I kept seeing everyone holding soft serve cones with this brown stick coming out of them. EVERYONE had them, I didn't see a single cone without a stick! So I took one for the team to play investigator and it turns out it is an ice cream come with a fondant-y chocolate log in it. Felt like a local getting one, threw the chocolate stick away two minutes later. It wasn't bad per say, just not really good. Tasted kind of like hardened chocolate icing shaped like a stick. Honestly, don't get the appeal, but hey, when in Brighton...
We concluded the night with dinner at this hole in the wall Italian restaurant. Unbelievably good. According to not London Hannah, who has been to Italy multiple times, this was real authentic Italian food. Holy crap it was amazing, and came with an even more amazing price tag. My dinner of salad, garlic bread (which was actually a hot flatbread looking thing with garlic butter melting on top) and some sort of tube shaped pasta filled with ricotta and spinach was only 7 pounds! A typical meal in London, not including drink or an appetizer is usually 12-15 pounds, this was 2x as delicious at half the price. We joked that it would be just as expensive to eat in the city as it would to take the train out there just for dinner. Definitely a great cap to the night. We were only in Brighton for maybe 5 or 6 hours, but it was such a refreshing change from London. London Hannah and I decided we are gonna plan ahead to get the cheaper fares and pick a free day during our "exam month" to actually go to the beach for the day. It was way to cold to attempt it this weekend, but we figure by May it should be nice enough to at least get a tan, and a good way to relieve the "stress" of the one final I have. Rough life.
This week is filled with a good amount of school work- I'll have everything for two of my classes completely finished and turned in by next week, so this week is a lot of prepping for that. And then, Saturday my parents come!! Couldn't be more excited, and never been happier to see them (sorry Mom. PS if you're reading this, bring me mac and cheese!). I'm sure there will be lots of stories and pictures to update, so I'll try to do that when they leave next Saturday, because the following day I leave for spring break! Still working on some of the logistics of it, but there are 4 cites completely booked as of now, with rumors of Scotland and Portugal in the works! So exciting, I can't believe that this week is the last week of classes and I only have a month and a half left here!
Anyways, back to facts about Brighton. I knew ahead of time that Brighton is a really popular vacation spot for Londoners and UKers alike, however while there I learned that it has been ranked on of the tep ten beaches in the world!?! Certainly shocked me, but seeing the town as crowded as it was in March, I no longer doubt it. The other unique thing about it is that Brighton has a pebble beach- not sand. I had only been to sandy beaches before, so I didn't know what to expect. The pebbles in Brighton were surprisingly big, maybe four or so average size ones could fit in my open hand with some smaller and some bigger ones. They resembled rocks that would be used for landscaping purposes in a garden or pond.It was really neat to walk on, almost like massaging, not painful like I typically anticipate of walking on tiny rocks.
We started the day walking through the adorable hilly streets of the town before heading to the beach. It was so refreshing walking through town- it almost reminded me of the city of Galway in Ireland. It's a really small, yet colorful town, filled with friendly people and places. Immediately you get struck with a beach town vibe- everyone just casually walks around, nearly every restaurant had a packed outdoor patio with people enjoying a pint, doors to all stores were wide open and welcome. There was a real sense of community there- a very welcomed change from the hustle and bustle of London. While walking around we all agreed we felt like we were in another place entirely, not a mere 60 miles from one of the busiest cities in the world. I felt like I could finally breath fresh air - not the smog filled yuck they call air here.
And then we found the Royal Pavilion. If we didn't feel in another world before, now we certainly did. See what I mean?
Finally, we couldn't stand smelling the ocean and not seeing it, so we headed for the beach and pier. SO crowded. Granted it was a nice Saturday afternoon, but the beach and pier were packed. I can't imagine how busy summers there are. The beach extended as far as we could see in either direction, divided by a Ferris wheel and the Brighton Pier. The pier was so much fun, very similar to an OC boardwalk, but with far, far less shops. There were only actually four or five souvenir shops, the rest of the pier was rides, games, food vendors, and restaurants. We spent a good portion of the day on this HUGE pier just wandering around, taking pictures of the beach, and convincing London Hannah to ride a mechanical bull. It required a quick outfit swap since she was wearing a skirt, but we got her up there...only for her to fall off literally 2 seconds later. The first round she only lasted 1 second, so she doubled her time!! Atta girl Hannah!! I also had my first "99 cone" on the pier. I kept seeing everyone holding soft serve cones with this brown stick coming out of them. EVERYONE had them, I didn't see a single cone without a stick! So I took one for the team to play investigator and it turns out it is an ice cream come with a fondant-y chocolate log in it. Felt like a local getting one, threw the chocolate stick away two minutes later. It wasn't bad per say, just not really good. Tasted kind of like hardened chocolate icing shaped like a stick. Honestly, don't get the appeal, but hey, when in Brighton...
 |
| An older pier that burned down in 2003. |
 |
| My "99 cone" |
 |
| She's Up! |
 |
| ...and she's down! |
This week is filled with a good amount of school work- I'll have everything for two of my classes completely finished and turned in by next week, so this week is a lot of prepping for that. And then, Saturday my parents come!! Couldn't be more excited, and never been happier to see them (sorry Mom. PS if you're reading this, bring me mac and cheese!). I'm sure there will be lots of stories and pictures to update, so I'll try to do that when they leave next Saturday, because the following day I leave for spring break! Still working on some of the logistics of it, but there are 4 cites completely booked as of now, with rumors of Scotland and Portugal in the works! So exciting, I can't believe that this week is the last week of classes and I only have a month and a half left here!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Barcelona: The Happiest Place in the World
There are so many thoughts constantly running through my head when I think about how amazing this weekend in Barcelona was. It doesn't seem like real life, it's almost like it's straight out of a movie- an award winning movie I'll have you know. Since we did and saw so much, I think the best way for me to get in lots of descriptions and lots of the 300 plus pictures I took would be to break it down into smaller sections.
Hostel: Our hostel was incredible, and definitely the main reason why we enjoyed the weekend so much. We didn't check in until about 12.30 at night Thursday, and when we arrived we were greeted by the 20 something worker who's first question was "Are you hungry? I made you dinner on the stove." He knew the way to a girls heart. We put our stuff up in our room quickly, came back down to pay and he simply goes "we will deal with it later, I know where you give, go eat, drink and make friends." So we did. Dinner was a basic pasta and cheese dish, and we enjoyed it with about 5 other college kids who were staying at the hotel in the really nice communal screened in patio type area. The same guy worked the next morning and he was great, pointed out routes for our sights, recommended local restaurants, and gave directions really well. Everyone who worked there (and the people in the town overall) were so friendly. It was great. Other reasons why we loved the hostel? Free breakfast AND dinner every day. Largely because of that, the hostel main floor was a huge congregating area for everyone the entire weekend filled with music, food, and just friendliness. Mornings people came and went, but at dinner time (9-9.30) there were easily 20 people down there all eating together, most of whom stayed to just chat and hang out the rest of the night. We met so many people, a lot of really small world coincidences of knowing people (ex: a kid studying in Oxford, who went to Langley in NOVA who knew tons of people who went to UMW, and a girl who not only knows my ex-boyfriend Matt, but also had his Mom as a teacher) It seemed like everyone had at least one of these weird coincidences happen to them over the course of the trip. It was from these impromptu, 4 hour long get togethers that we met the 4 other kids we toured around with the rest of the weekend- Lauren and Sabrina: two girls from Santa Barbra studying in Rome, and David and Nate: both from Kansas, David studying in Germany and Nate coming over to visit him. This chain of hostels has a branch in Prague, so we're absolutely going to book them again when were there in April and hopefully get an equally great experience.
The People of Barcelona: The people there are fantastic. Everyone is so friendly and so relaxed all the time. Speaking of: siestas are real. Shops and restaurants legitimately close from like 2-6 or so every day, and reopen later in the evening.That's just how they are there, everything is laid back, easy going, and if you don't get to it now, you just do it tomorrow. They love public spaces too. The market places were always crowded, which is typical of most markets, but walking down side streets in really residential areas you just seem people sitting on benches, strolling around, not really having a care in the world. I don't blame them, in a place that beautiful, I wouldn't have a care either. They really are in no rush for anything down there. Because of siesta, dinner isn't served til 9-10 at night, and because dinner is so late, bars don't open til after 11 and clubs don't open til 2. Not exactly London's cup of tea where pubs are always lights out at 12.30. That's just how they do it, relax in the day, stay up late, sleep in and enjoy their mornings, then do it all over again. I also learned that Spain has 4 official languages, and that the language spoken in Barcelona isn't actually Spanish, it's Catalan. Catalan is similar to Spanish, however we were informed that the people of Catalonia do not like it at all when people assume they all speak Spanish. Apparently there have been numerous attempted to emancipate Catalonia from the rest of Spain, and if the most recent attempt prevails, the official language will be Catalan, with the secondary language English- not Spanish. That's how much they dislike the automatic association. Despite the language barrier, the people were great to us. Not many knew much English besides very basic words and numbers (like my knowledge of Spanish) but that was mostly because the places we went to eat were recommended holes in the wall, not in touristy areas. With lots of drawings and hand motions however, we were able to navigate our way through the city pretty easily.
Food: Do not even get me started on the food in Barcelona. First of all: SO CHEAP. There was a little fruit market two blocks from our hostel: two apples- 28 cents. A bag filled with a mushroom, tomato, eggplant, and two peppers for omelets- 2 euro. Pocket change compare to the 2 1/2 pound (which is heavier than the euro, fyi) charge for 4 apples in London. Grocery shopping one morning my 6 eggs, 10 slices of cheese, bottle of water and bottle of orange juice cost like 4 euro, a six pack of beer only costs 3. So much cheaper than London. Cheaper than the US even. We went to a paella place on Friday, which while I didn't like it, everyone else swears it was the best paella they've had in their life. 5 HUGE servings of paella plus two bottles of wine (only 3 euro a bottle!) and a salad for me came to under 60 euro everything included. For 6 people, not too shabby. Saturday we went to a tapas place which was even better. We got their house sangria - to die for, and everyone split a bunch of tapas. I got chicken and grilled asparagus- delicious. Most days we ate a bigger breakfast at the hostel, a few snacks in the early afternoon (gelato, churros, fresh fruit smoothies) ate our real meal around 5, and then headed back to the hotel for "half meal" dinner at 930. A little nontraditional but a very cheap way to go about it. Dinner at the hostel was never that great, pasta one night, polenta another, and rice and veggies with sweet potatoes the last, but for free it was a nice little snack before going out in the evening, especially considering how late "out" is in Barcelona.
Walking Tour: Our hostel organized a free (or so we thought until the leader came back the next night insisting tips) walking tour for us through the city center. This isn't where any of the real attractions are, besides Las Ramblas- the main strip that runs through the center of town, but she did show us some hidden gems and knew tons of information. We stayed with her for probably 2 1/2 hours or so before 6 of us branched off to wander on our own the rest of the time. We had a beach to get to.
Boquiera Market: One of our stops on the walking tour which was probably the best part of the tour. It's so hard to describe, so many colors, smells, stands, people everything. It was fascinating. Anything you can imagine food wise could be found inside: fruits, veggies, spices, fresh meat, still moving seafood, bakery, wine, dry goods they have it all. I'll just let the pictures explain this one.
The Beach and Harbor: Obviously after being in the gloomy city of London for the past few months, seeing the beach was high on our priority list for the trip. After we left the tour group, we walked around finding the massive harbor, and eventually the beach. The weather was great all weekend- 70s, but near the beach it was chilly, windy, and surprisingly foggy. From the beach in the distance we could see some fog, but thought nothing of it until 10 minutes later we were in the fog. Really strange and totally uncharacteristic of the city. We didn't actually go in the water, wayyyy too cold for that, but we did enjoy walking in the sand and just soaking it up.
Gaudi: Question: who is this Gaudi man and why is he so popular. Answer: He's arguably the most popular architect in Barcelona (if not the world) and he's amazing, so that's why he's so popular. Seriously his work is absolutely awe inspiring. Everything he does is colorful, whimsical, visually stunning, really organic shapes, heavily rooted in nature and just stunning. We started Saturday looking at a few of his pieces that are still functioning buildings in the city before heading over to his park and masterpiece Sagrada Familia later. Mostly in part to Gaudi and that style of architecture in the city, it really feels like you're in a Dr. Seuss book. I loved everything about it, so happy.
Sagrada Familia: I don't even know where to begin with this. I guess a little history would be a good place to start. Sagrada Familia is hands down Gaudi's masterpiece, even though it is unfinished and will be for likely the next 100 years. Basically Gaudi designed probably the most elaborate cathedral in the world, and dedicated the last 30 years of his life to it. He died in the 1920s when he was hit by a public transit tram, and because he was leaving the church construction sight he was scruffy, dirty, and was misconstrued as a homeless man. Thinking he was homeless, no one rushed to help him, and he died in the hospital the next day once people realized who he was. Anyways, the church decided to finish building based on his plans, however its so ornate and complicated that funding is an issue. Therefore, the church was started in the late 1800s, is still under construction, and will probably be under construction for at least 100 years to come, if not more. The front facade of the church is unbelievable. It just pops out at you, so grand, ornate, massive, just really intriguing.
So you get past the massiveness of the front facade, get in line to buy tickets, and enter the interior of the church. This place is gem on top of gem on top of gem. The interior easily surpassed the front part of the church.
Okay, so at this point you're amazed by the front and the inside, and then you go outside and see the back of the church. Ornate is an understatement. From a distance is looks almost like clumps of melted candle wax, but when you get closer you see that each "clump" is actually some sort of scene from the bible.
At this point, you think it couldn't possibly get better, but like everything else about this place, it keeps getting better and the best is certainly saved for last. Our admission ticket included a lift to the top of one of the towers. We assumed it would just open out to a small observatory window, be there for five minutes, then we would take the elevator back down. Boy were we wrong. The only thing we were accurate about was that the lift took you up. Everything else absolutely blew us away. You take the lift up, and can see through the little "windows" a gorgeous view of the city of Barcelona, then you follow a path that takes you to an uncovered bridge from one of the towers to another. That part, totally expected. Figured there would be a view, just not nearly as nice as it actually was. Then, things got crazy. We followed the path looking for the elevator back down...there's not one. They literally let you roam up and down all 4 of the main towers. So many staircases and forks to choose from and you just go. You explore. You see. Breathtaking is an understatement. I was truly stunned to the point where I was physically shaking. Here we are, 6 American's doing a touristy day, just happened to buy the lift ticket with our admission and we are at the highest point of Spain's most famous attraction just hanging out. It wasn't real, it felt like a movie. We just kind of went, stumbling across new exposed pathways from one tower to another and even a few balconies. We were standing on the balcony of the Sagrada Familia. How many people can say that. It was hands down the best experience of my life. All of us just kept like hitting ourselves to wake up from this dream. Literally, we'd turn around and there would be one of the beautiful ornate pillar toppers of the smaller towers. They were so close you could practically touch them. That 45 minute experience alone was well worth the trip, I just can't get it out of my head. We all were on such a high when we finally wandered down. That was the first time that I had ever had that sort of reaction to something. I'm not normally claustrophobic or afraid of heights, so I don't know if that was it, or the amazingness, or the fact that we were just wandering around this wonder of the world but I was literally shaking the entire time. I can't even explain any more how it felt, unreal is the only word I can think of. Best experience of my life. I can die happy. You really are so small up there. You're surrounded by these MASSIVE structures, the top ornaments themselves are a good three of me tall, and you really feel just like a speck in the world. Unbelievable. Hopefully these pictures will kind of give a glimpse of what it was like.
Parc Guell: So continuing on our Gaudi day, we left the Sagrada Familia still freaking out a little bit to go up the very long, very uphill walk to Parc Guell- Gaudi's gorgeous mosaic park. It really was great, so lush with palm trees, so many neat mosaics and lots of people just hanging out and enjoying.The views were stunning, you can literally see all of the city. It was really neat for us to see the big landmarks of places we had been from so high up on a mountain, and it wasn't until then that we realized how much land we had actually covered in one day. Again, it's a picture is louder than words thing.
Magic Fountain: the nightcap for Saturday and the trip in general was a trip to the Magic Fountain, only about 10 minutes from our hostel. After dinner Saturday, Ariel, Lauren and Sabrina went back to shower and get ready for the night, so Nate, David and I headed over. I wasn't really sure what to expect, I had heard about it both from the hostel and from websites online saying you had to do it, but that's about where my knowledge ended. There were huge spotlights visible from where we ate and we figured they were for the fountain so we followed them, and then HOLY CRAP fountains. Tons of fountains. The spotlights were coming from behind this grand palace all illuminated at night, you take a series of about 7 escalators down to get the to the main fountain. Lining the escalators down, are tons of little fountains and waterfalls all light up white. Absolutely beautiful. As we got closer to the main fountain- really obvious as it's massive, multicolored, and surrounded by people, we heard music. The fountain itself is super high tech and it is actually a 20 minute show, every 30 minutes of lights, songs, water, and movement. It was so very neat. We were surprised by the choice of music: old school 90s pop. We're talking Backstreet Boys, MJ, Oasis, Smashmouth, but it was so cool. Inside the huge fountain are little spinning ones so the water is absolutely mesmerizing. The place was packed too, lots of locals and visitors as well as vendors selling glowsticks and light up balls for the kids. The night was just simply illuminated. It really was the fantastic end to a very magical day in Barcelona.
Transportation: the only flaw in our whole trip was transportation...on multiple occasions. On our way in from the airport, we found what we thought was the airport's taxi queue...lots of taxis all lined up, professional signs, even a man directing traffic and people into taxis. Our taxi driver was great, spoke very little English but tried to communicate with us as best he could (mostly cervesa and fiesta) and attempting pointing out attractions using hand gestures to describe what they were. He even warned us about pickpockets which everyone claims are really bad in Barcelona. All was going well until we noticed his meter wasn't on, but at this point we were on a highway and there wasn't really any going back. Then we got near our street and he got lost. Like wrong way on one way roads lost. Four times he stopped and asked passerbys for directions, it took a while but eventually we got to our place. 40 euro later we were there safe. Somewhat pissed off that the cab was that expensive, we paid (since we didnt speak enough to argue with him) and agreed not to take a taxi back to the airport. Turns out a normal taxi to the airport should be like 20 euro. So we were slightly pissed off because at the airport it seemed real legit, looked exactly like the taxi queues outside London stations do, but figured at least we got there safe, and it could have been worse.
After that experience we took the public transit train back to the airport...or attempted to. We had to change once, did that perfectly, no problems what so ever. When we got to the main train terminal, we swiped our ticket (only 2 euro ) to get into the gates, found out that we were leaving at 9:09 from platform 9 and about 10 minutes before then headed down. A train came almost as soon as we got there so we, with a bunch of others, hopped on and continued on our way. The train left at 9:06 which we figured was a little rash since the terminal information said 9:09 but we were on it so what did it matter. 20 minutes later a ticket collector comes around and we see he stopped the people a few seats in front of us, we just assumed that they hadn't bought a ticket, but we had ours so we were fine. Turns out we weren't. Apparently us and the guys ahead of us were on the wrong train. Apparently, someone, some crazy Spaniard thought it was a good idea to have a train leave from platform 9 going to some other city in Spain a mere 3 minutes before the train at platform 9 going to the airport. We figured the train just got there early, since we boarded at 9:04, but turns out that's not the case. So we were literally kicked off the train. They made a stop they normally don't and the guy told us that he called the train behind us(the one we were supposed to be on) and they would stop for us at this station so we should wait here. 5 minutes a train came...did it stop? Nope. So after looking at timetables and figuring out none of the trains at that stop went to the airport, us and our 2 American military men based in Italy who got kicked off with us headed towards the town to find a taxi. It took a bit, no taxi's in sight but it was an adorable little beach town. Definitely a locals only spot. We found a cafe owner who called us a cab and arrived to the airport after a very costly cab later (the whole thing we were trying to avoid from the get go). Luckily Ariel and I like to be early, so our flight was at 11:30 and we got kicked off the train at like 9:30 or so, so we had plenty of time to get to the airport which turns out was only 20 minutes away. The boys weren't so lucky, as their flight was at 10:30. We got to the airport at like 10:40, so we had plenty of time to get to our gate, no line at bag drop or security, but we're assuming the boys didn't make theirs, but I guess we'll never now.
So aside from those little transportation flaws, the trip was absolutely amazing. I'd go back right now if I could. The only thing I could think of when we landed in gloomy London was how in a heartbeat I would switch to study in Barcelona. Everything about it is great. It's sunny, it's warm, it's friendly, it's colorful, it's happy, it's beautiful, it's magical, it's everything. The other places I've been to this semester were great, places that I'm so glad I went to, and would go back if it came up but would rather see other new places first. Not Barcelona. I will and plan to take any opportunity to go back as many times as I can. Other people I know who have been there said the same thing, but I just assumed it was an exaggeration. Not even close. Hands down favorite place and best experience I've had yet- this semester and in life. Seriously, if you have the opportunity to go, grab it and go. You will absolutely not regret it.
Hostel: Our hostel was incredible, and definitely the main reason why we enjoyed the weekend so much. We didn't check in until about 12.30 at night Thursday, and when we arrived we were greeted by the 20 something worker who's first question was "Are you hungry? I made you dinner on the stove." He knew the way to a girls heart. We put our stuff up in our room quickly, came back down to pay and he simply goes "we will deal with it later, I know where you give, go eat, drink and make friends." So we did. Dinner was a basic pasta and cheese dish, and we enjoyed it with about 5 other college kids who were staying at the hotel in the really nice communal screened in patio type area. The same guy worked the next morning and he was great, pointed out routes for our sights, recommended local restaurants, and gave directions really well. Everyone who worked there (and the people in the town overall) were so friendly. It was great. Other reasons why we loved the hostel? Free breakfast AND dinner every day. Largely because of that, the hostel main floor was a huge congregating area for everyone the entire weekend filled with music, food, and just friendliness. Mornings people came and went, but at dinner time (9-9.30) there were easily 20 people down there all eating together, most of whom stayed to just chat and hang out the rest of the night. We met so many people, a lot of really small world coincidences of knowing people (ex: a kid studying in Oxford, who went to Langley in NOVA who knew tons of people who went to UMW, and a girl who not only knows my ex-boyfriend Matt, but also had his Mom as a teacher) It seemed like everyone had at least one of these weird coincidences happen to them over the course of the trip. It was from these impromptu, 4 hour long get togethers that we met the 4 other kids we toured around with the rest of the weekend- Lauren and Sabrina: two girls from Santa Barbra studying in Rome, and David and Nate: both from Kansas, David studying in Germany and Nate coming over to visit him. This chain of hostels has a branch in Prague, so we're absolutely going to book them again when were there in April and hopefully get an equally great experience.
 |
| The graffiti lobsta in our room |
 | ||
| The whole hostel was covered in funky, colorful spray paintings |
Food: Do not even get me started on the food in Barcelona. First of all: SO CHEAP. There was a little fruit market two blocks from our hostel: two apples- 28 cents. A bag filled with a mushroom, tomato, eggplant, and two peppers for omelets- 2 euro. Pocket change compare to the 2 1/2 pound (which is heavier than the euro, fyi) charge for 4 apples in London. Grocery shopping one morning my 6 eggs, 10 slices of cheese, bottle of water and bottle of orange juice cost like 4 euro, a six pack of beer only costs 3. So much cheaper than London. Cheaper than the US even. We went to a paella place on Friday, which while I didn't like it, everyone else swears it was the best paella they've had in their life. 5 HUGE servings of paella plus two bottles of wine (only 3 euro a bottle!) and a salad for me came to under 60 euro everything included. For 6 people, not too shabby. Saturday we went to a tapas place which was even better. We got their house sangria - to die for, and everyone split a bunch of tapas. I got chicken and grilled asparagus- delicious. Most days we ate a bigger breakfast at the hostel, a few snacks in the early afternoon (gelato, churros, fresh fruit smoothies) ate our real meal around 5, and then headed back to the hotel for "half meal" dinner at 930. A little nontraditional but a very cheap way to go about it. Dinner at the hostel was never that great, pasta one night, polenta another, and rice and veggies with sweet potatoes the last, but for free it was a nice little snack before going out in the evening, especially considering how late "out" is in Barcelona.
 |
| Boquera Market smoothies: one euro heaven in a plastic cup |
 |
| Fresh sangria: heaven in a wine glass |
 |
| Las Ramblas |
 |
| Our tour guide explained that when you drink from this fountain for the first time, it makes you fall in love with the city of Barcelona. I drank. It worked. |
 | |
| Hemingway's Bar in Barcelona |
 |
| This is the shrine to one of the saints of Barcelona. Story is that the saint was a 13 year old girl who was captured and tortured 13 different ways before she was killed for defending her religion and her city. The legend says that right before she was killed, she was whipped in public and as she was about to die, it suddenly started snowing to cleanse her of her sins. The city holds a festival every year in honor of her, and they say when it snows in the city, it's her looking down on them. |
 |
| Memorial plaque under the shrine |
 |
| The cutest little school children |
 |
| We walked into, literally, a photoshoot |
 |
| The chips in the walls are actually from one of Hitler's bombs when Germans dropped fire on Catalonia. Most of that area of the city was destroyed expect for this one church that clearly shows scars from the event |
 |
| Who is behind this wonderful piece of "art" a three year old could do? Believe it or not, Picasso himself did the mural |
 |
| One of the many ornate churches we found...absolutely nothing compared to the Segrada Familia |
 |
| Lots of dancing school children |
Boquiera Market: One of our stops on the walking tour which was probably the best part of the tour. It's so hard to describe, so many colors, smells, stands, people everything. It was fascinating. Anything you can imagine food wise could be found inside: fruits, veggies, spices, fresh meat, still moving seafood, bakery, wine, dry goods they have it all. I'll just let the pictures explain this one.
 |
| Market entrance- makes the place look tiny...it's not |
 |
| We watched a crab be put into a plastic bag and weighed, assuming it was dead. When the woman picked up the bag to hand it to the customer the bag was moving. Yeah, none of that stuff is actually dead, talk about fresh. |
 |
| The Christopher Columbus |
 |
| Contrary to popular belief, he's not actually pointing to the new world. Supposedly he is pointing towards his home city of Genoa, but that is still popularly debated. |
 |
| Casto Balltio- one of his more famous buildings that is unique from his others in that he designed the interior of this one as well so you see the same shapes and designs both inside and out. |
 |
| The streets of the city all look like this and are made up of tiles designed by Gaudi |
 |
| La Pedrera- another one of Gaudi's pieces |
 |
| He designed the inside pillars so that they resembled branches holding up trees |
 |
| The windows that are soon to be replaced with stained glass as soon as more funding comes in. Only about 1/2 the church has it's stained glass in place |
 | |
| Best. Quote. Ever. |
 |
| Close up of a "clump" that's actually a head and a man praying. |
 |
| On the balcony |
 | |
|
Magic Fountain: the nightcap for Saturday and the trip in general was a trip to the Magic Fountain, only about 10 minutes from our hostel. After dinner Saturday, Ariel, Lauren and Sabrina went back to shower and get ready for the night, so Nate, David and I headed over. I wasn't really sure what to expect, I had heard about it both from the hostel and from websites online saying you had to do it, but that's about where my knowledge ended. There were huge spotlights visible from where we ate and we figured they were for the fountain so we followed them, and then HOLY CRAP fountains. Tons of fountains. The spotlights were coming from behind this grand palace all illuminated at night, you take a series of about 7 escalators down to get the to the main fountain. Lining the escalators down, are tons of little fountains and waterfalls all light up white. Absolutely beautiful. As we got closer to the main fountain- really obvious as it's massive, multicolored, and surrounded by people, we heard music. The fountain itself is super high tech and it is actually a 20 minute show, every 30 minutes of lights, songs, water, and movement. It was so very neat. We were surprised by the choice of music: old school 90s pop. We're talking Backstreet Boys, MJ, Oasis, Smashmouth, but it was so cool. Inside the huge fountain are little spinning ones so the water is absolutely mesmerizing. The place was packed too, lots of locals and visitors as well as vendors selling glowsticks and light up balls for the kids. The night was just simply illuminated. It really was the fantastic end to a very magical day in Barcelona.
 |
| The fountains lining the way down the main hill |
After that experience we took the public transit train back to the airport...or attempted to. We had to change once, did that perfectly, no problems what so ever. When we got to the main train terminal, we swiped our ticket (only 2 euro ) to get into the gates, found out that we were leaving at 9:09 from platform 9 and about 10 minutes before then headed down. A train came almost as soon as we got there so we, with a bunch of others, hopped on and continued on our way. The train left at 9:06 which we figured was a little rash since the terminal information said 9:09 but we were on it so what did it matter. 20 minutes later a ticket collector comes around and we see he stopped the people a few seats in front of us, we just assumed that they hadn't bought a ticket, but we had ours so we were fine. Turns out we weren't. Apparently us and the guys ahead of us were on the wrong train. Apparently, someone, some crazy Spaniard thought it was a good idea to have a train leave from platform 9 going to some other city in Spain a mere 3 minutes before the train at platform 9 going to the airport. We figured the train just got there early, since we boarded at 9:04, but turns out that's not the case. So we were literally kicked off the train. They made a stop they normally don't and the guy told us that he called the train behind us(the one we were supposed to be on) and they would stop for us at this station so we should wait here. 5 minutes a train came...did it stop? Nope. So after looking at timetables and figuring out none of the trains at that stop went to the airport, us and our 2 American military men based in Italy who got kicked off with us headed towards the town to find a taxi. It took a bit, no taxi's in sight but it was an adorable little beach town. Definitely a locals only spot. We found a cafe owner who called us a cab and arrived to the airport after a very costly cab later (the whole thing we were trying to avoid from the get go). Luckily Ariel and I like to be early, so our flight was at 11:30 and we got kicked off the train at like 9:30 or so, so we had plenty of time to get to the airport which turns out was only 20 minutes away. The boys weren't so lucky, as their flight was at 10:30. We got to the airport at like 10:40, so we had plenty of time to get to our gate, no line at bag drop or security, but we're assuming the boys didn't make theirs, but I guess we'll never now.
So aside from those little transportation flaws, the trip was absolutely amazing. I'd go back right now if I could. The only thing I could think of when we landed in gloomy London was how in a heartbeat I would switch to study in Barcelona. Everything about it is great. It's sunny, it's warm, it's friendly, it's colorful, it's happy, it's beautiful, it's magical, it's everything. The other places I've been to this semester were great, places that I'm so glad I went to, and would go back if it came up but would rather see other new places first. Not Barcelona. I will and plan to take any opportunity to go back as many times as I can. Other people I know who have been there said the same thing, but I just assumed it was an exaggeration. Not even close. Hands down favorite place and best experience I've had yet- this semester and in life. Seriously, if you have the opportunity to go, grab it and go. You will absolutely not regret it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)