No joke but more on that later.
The Swiss Alps are AMAZING! It is so beautiful here and I have never seen such steep mountains in my life. We had to take a gondola to get to the village that we are staying in, how cool is that?
We decided to go on a little hike (6 hours the locals said). I bet you can guess how that turned out. Here they estimate everything in time. But hey! Time is relative don`t you know. And I swear that they always underestimate. The hike was actually 11 miles up an Alp and back down which we learned everywhere. The view was amazing but it was steep. There were these oldies blasting past us with their boots and dorky looking walking poles. I wanted some of those poles as I was slipping and sliding in my sub-standard tennis shoes. PS It took us 8 hours.
The next day was chill as well. We hiked up to the next village (50 mins legit uphill) and took a gondola to the top of a peak. Apparently they shot the 1968 James Bond movie up there and they are very proud of that. How anybody skies and boards up there I have no idea. I would die for sure, Bryan wants to try it though.
It is so nice here that we stayed an extra couple of days. Oops. Oh darn, I have to wake up the the beautiful mountains each morning. The people here are so friendly and star watching at night is great. The sky is the same no matter where you are. We have met a lot of travelers which has been fun. Some of them even talked us into... Paragliding off an Alp!
It was awesome. We were each hooked into this guy. Then we ran down the mountain and boom! We were in the air, going off a cliff and soaring between the mountains. IT WAS SO COOL (even though now I cannot afford to eat for a week now). Hiking the Alps was good, flying over them was so much better though!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Back in Time to Medieval Germany
That is Rothenburg for you.
My version in a nut shell:
My version in a nut shell:
- Why do they sell daggers? Who actually needs one? Oh wait, Bryan does.
- We are walled in, what if there was a fire? I am not sure that I could scale those walls.
- Medieval bike seats freaking hurt my tush.
- Turns out it can rain like no other here too, especially when one is 7+ miles outside or town.
- Guys with long curly mustaches make great tea.
- We are always destined to have a room on the top floor and no, elevators do not exist in Medieval Germany.
- The sunsets are killer.
- Biking downhill = Good, Uphill = Walking
- Yeah for the country side and 9 trains to get there!
The Lights are Red... sketch!
That is right, we made our way to Amsterdam. Intial thoughts: Bike-mania. These bikes are EVERYWHERE! Here, there, there is even a multi story parking garage by the train station. They even have there own bike lane. Now we have to worried about getting hit by trams, cars, and bikes. It is almost too much to handle... just kidding but seriously, I am pretty sure that a biker would run us over if they got the chance, they look hardcore. There is a rumor that there are more bikes than people which I totally believe.
Another interesting fact: Amsterdam actually has more canals than Venice.
Also this is a very confusing place. First of all we, as Americans, know the country as the Netherlands but they refer to it as Holland and to top it off, they speak DUTCH. Ahhhh.... Actually most signs are in Dutch, German, French, and English and most people appear to be fluent in at least three of the four.
Weed is legal here which is odd but smells vaguely like dorm life at college. I swear some of these people think that they are in Jamacia on the beach. Apparently you can by some of the magical plant for 10 euro or 15 US. Huh.
The Red Light District is super sketch (even before dark) and I feel like I need to take a shower and go to church afterwards. The girls (some of them look like teens and others are old women with a lot of make-up) stand in these little red booths and try to attract customers who look nasty in comparison. Ugh. Apparently this is not an equal opportunity town though because I did not see any men in booths. There were lots of tourist though walking around too and gawking though because it was before dark. Seems like a hard way to make a living but I am told that they are entreprenuers and have a union and everything. To each their own I guess.
We spent the majority of our time checking out depressing WWII stuff which Bryan thought was awesome. We went to this cool museum about the Nazi envasion of Holland (sounds like they were a little slow on the up-take to me) and the Anne Frank House.
All and all not to shabby. It was a mix between the educational junk and the sketchiness of life all rolled into a day and a half. The city had a lot more to offer though so another visit is a must in the future.
Last but not least, avoid red lights at night!
Another interesting fact: Amsterdam actually has more canals than Venice.
Also this is a very confusing place. First of all we, as Americans, know the country as the Netherlands but they refer to it as Holland and to top it off, they speak DUTCH. Ahhhh.... Actually most signs are in Dutch, German, French, and English and most people appear to be fluent in at least three of the four.
Weed is legal here which is odd but smells vaguely like dorm life at college. I swear some of these people think that they are in Jamacia on the beach. Apparently you can by some of the magical plant for 10 euro or 15 US. Huh.
The Red Light District is super sketch (even before dark) and I feel like I need to take a shower and go to church afterwards. The girls (some of them look like teens and others are old women with a lot of make-up) stand in these little red booths and try to attract customers who look nasty in comparison. Ugh. Apparently this is not an equal opportunity town though because I did not see any men in booths. There were lots of tourist though walking around too and gawking though because it was before dark. Seems like a hard way to make a living but I am told that they are entreprenuers and have a union and everything. To each their own I guess.
We spent the majority of our time checking out depressing WWII stuff which Bryan thought was awesome. We went to this cool museum about the Nazi envasion of Holland (sounds like they were a little slow on the up-take to me) and the Anne Frank House.
All and all not to shabby. It was a mix between the educational junk and the sketchiness of life all rolled into a day and a half. The city had a lot more to offer though so another visit is a must in the future.
Last but not least, avoid red lights at night!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
I <3 Nothing... I am Parisian
Haha. So apparently those parisians are known for being snobby, deep in the pockets, and slightly cranky. We didn't really have any problems though. I guess some girl was wearing a shirt though that said "I <3 Nothing... I am Parisian" and everybody thought that that it was hilarious. (I cannot actually make the real heart symbol on this key board so use your imagination.)
Paris was great though and the crepes were AMAZING! I personally recommend the ones with nutella. They were delicious!
Other Paris observations include everybody's extreme need for a scarf around their neck even in the middle of the day. People also seem perfectly okay not eating refrigerated meats, cheeses, or eggs (I have not made it that far yet though). Finally, Paris has the most well-off bums I have ever seen. Some had carpet and microwaves which is practically more than I have back at school!
Paris was great though and the crepes were AMAZING! I personally recommend the ones with nutella. They were delicious!
Other Paris observations include everybody's extreme need for a scarf around their neck even in the middle of the day. People also seem perfectly okay not eating refrigerated meats, cheeses, or eggs (I have not made it that far yet though). Finally, Paris has the most well-off bums I have ever seen. Some had carpet and microwaves which is practically more than I have back at school!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Brugge (That's in Belgium)
Awww... Brugge. A nice little, historical corner of Belgium. There were hardly any cars and some people traveled by horses. It was a nice break after the big cities. The town had that old time feel with cobbled streets and small buildings.
Brugge can be summed up as lace, waffles, beer, chocolate, and old bricks. We paid to climb stairs again (OMG) but the view was pretty cool. There is handmade lace everywhere and considering what it takes to make lace it seems pretty cheap. The waffles are SO DELICIOUS! We asked some guy why this is and he said that there is a ton of sugar in them. Darn! Good thing we are only here for a few days... Belgium is known for its beer the Belgium Zot and of course for their chocolates (some of which were in very disturbing and hilarious molds). And finally, those old bricks that can be found in every old town.
Brugge can be summed up as lace, waffles, beer, chocolate, and old bricks. We paid to climb stairs again (OMG) but the view was pretty cool. There is handmade lace everywhere and considering what it takes to make lace it seems pretty cheap. The waffles are SO DELICIOUS! We asked some guy why this is and he said that there is a ton of sugar in them. Darn! Good thing we are only here for a few days... Belgium is known for its beer the Belgium Zot and of course for their chocolates (some of which were in very disturbing and hilarious molds). And finally, those old bricks that can be found in every old town.
Showering under the Tower!
So we did go to the Eiffel Tower and that will be a night that we will never forget.
We wanted to go at night to see the city. They say that from the top, you can see up to 40 miles in every direction. Getting there was a chore as usual as the Paris metro does not have that many stops for a city of its size. After avoiding the sellers (one actually chased Bryan after Bryan asked him a question, it was hilarious) we got in a line.
They light up the tower at 10:00pm and it shimmers for 5 minutes on the hour for the next several hours. In line it started to sprinkle and we could see lightning off in the distance. Most people might be worried about going up in a metal tower during a lightning storm but not us. We are.... um.... brave. Sadly, we got in the line to take the stairs up to the second platform (ugh).
Suddenly, the skies openned up and it rained like no other. The world was coming to an end!
People ran in every which way trying to seek cover. It would have been funnier had we not been some of those people. The freak flash rain storm lasted about 10 minutes. It was so powerful that it knocked over the metal gates. While huddling for cover with 20 other toursits, a seller (damn they are persistent) came around with umbrellas for €20. Too late I yelled at him over the storm, I am already wet. He considered this and then offered me one for €5.
As the storm died down a bit we saw our chance to move to the front of an elevator line and ran for it across the bottom of the tower. We jumped over the little gates to the front of the line and got our tickets. I personally think this was God's way of saying that we should not take the stairs, haha.
Because of the storm though thet closed the top so we could only get to the second platform. It was still pretty cool though and we continued to whatch the lightning from there.
After freezing for 30 minutes we headed back to the hotel. We only had to jump one metro gate (they all went off-line in the storm and refused to open) and some how managed to catch the last train on every line that we needed back.
We will always remember this night as the night that we ALMOST got to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
I guess we will just have to go back, oh darn.
We wanted to go at night to see the city. They say that from the top, you can see up to 40 miles in every direction. Getting there was a chore as usual as the Paris metro does not have that many stops for a city of its size. After avoiding the sellers (one actually chased Bryan after Bryan asked him a question, it was hilarious) we got in a line.
They light up the tower at 10:00pm and it shimmers for 5 minutes on the hour for the next several hours. In line it started to sprinkle and we could see lightning off in the distance. Most people might be worried about going up in a metal tower during a lightning storm but not us. We are.... um.... brave. Sadly, we got in the line to take the stairs up to the second platform (ugh).
Suddenly, the skies openned up and it rained like no other. The world was coming to an end!
People ran in every which way trying to seek cover. It would have been funnier had we not been some of those people. The freak flash rain storm lasted about 10 minutes. It was so powerful that it knocked over the metal gates. While huddling for cover with 20 other toursits, a seller (damn they are persistent) came around with umbrellas for €20. Too late I yelled at him over the storm, I am already wet. He considered this and then offered me one for €5.
As the storm died down a bit we saw our chance to move to the front of an elevator line and ran for it across the bottom of the tower. We jumped over the little gates to the front of the line and got our tickets. I personally think this was God's way of saying that we should not take the stairs, haha.
Because of the storm though thet closed the top so we could only get to the second platform. It was still pretty cool though and we continued to whatch the lightning from there.
After freezing for 30 minutes we headed back to the hotel. We only had to jump one metro gate (they all went off-line in the storm and refused to open) and some how managed to catch the last train on every line that we needed back.
We will always remember this night as the night that we ALMOST got to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
I guess we will just have to go back, oh darn.
Harry Potter 6
We are dorks.
If wewere in the States, we would have bought tickets days in advace for the midnight showing, stood in line for over 8 hours, clapped when the movie started and then headed to Sharie's at three in the morning afterwards to talk about it over milkshakes.
That being said though, we were in France. The strange thing about the French is that they still think that French is the international language off the world. (The Spaniards explained this to us when we were there with many eye rolls.) So they dubbed all of their films and TV shows which made life very difficult for us.
We did it though. We found the english version of Harry Potter and saw it on its openning day. We still had to wait in line (only for like 20 minutes) and people did clap (which made me feel a little better on the inside). And let me tell you WOW.
I won't ruin it for anyone but it strays from the book quite a bit and I think that it would be hard to follow unless you had read the sixith book. All the same though... We loved it. The special effects were amazing. Truth be told, we will probably go and see it again before summer is up.
If wewere in the States, we would have bought tickets days in advace for the midnight showing, stood in line for over 8 hours, clapped when the movie started and then headed to Sharie's at three in the morning afterwards to talk about it over milkshakes.
That being said though, we were in France. The strange thing about the French is that they still think that French is the international language off the world. (The Spaniards explained this to us when we were there with many eye rolls.) So they dubbed all of their films and TV shows which made life very difficult for us.
We did it though. We found the english version of Harry Potter and saw it on its openning day. We still had to wait in line (only for like 20 minutes) and people did clap (which made me feel a little better on the inside). And let me tell you WOW.
I won't ruin it for anyone but it strays from the book quite a bit and I think that it would be hard to follow unless you had read the sixith book. All the same though... We loved it. The special effects were amazing. Truth be told, we will probably go and see it again before summer is up.
Foiled by French Key Boards! Seriously, who rearranges the keys on the key board?!
Our taste of France was brief but flavorful none the least. We were going to spend time in both Lyon and Paris but we decided spend all of our time just in Paris. We LOVED Paris (probably because it was like 20 degrees cooler than Spain) but let me tell you... Paris is not cheap. The poor traveling students like oursevles had to be careful in ol' Paris as we spent two days budget on just a train ticket (oww).
We did not skimp too bad though. Paris has a supreme lack of hostels so we were forced to stay at a cheap hotel (oh darn, we have to have our own bathroom). Bryan is like Christmas because everytime he moves it snows dead skin (ugh). Those Valencia sunburns are starting to peel.
While in France we saw the Louvre (we recommend the audio guides BIG TIME), Napoleon's final resting place (they dug him up after he had been dead for awhile and then placed him in six coffins in the middle of a huge room), the most high tech museum I have ever been too for the French leader during WWII, a giant arch whose name I cannot recall, Norte Dame, several other famous cathedrals, and of course Versailles (we were actually there during the French 4th of Julyish celebration which had to do with their revelution).
We had many great battles though too. The metro gates were fickle and brutle. We had to hop a couple because they would not take our tickets. Transportation is expensive so we took a nice little hour hike one day through the city. The weather was crazy (more on that later though). We climed SO MANY stairs. We had to use sketchy bathrooms in moments of extreme need (carry hand sanitizer everywhere and don't touch anything!). And of course we had to avoid the hoards of people selling illegal goods (and they were everywhere and very pushy).
All and all though, not too bad I would saw. It was a great city.
We did not skimp too bad though. Paris has a supreme lack of hostels so we were forced to stay at a cheap hotel (oh darn, we have to have our own bathroom). Bryan is like Christmas because everytime he moves it snows dead skin (ugh). Those Valencia sunburns are starting to peel.
While in France we saw the Louvre (we recommend the audio guides BIG TIME), Napoleon's final resting place (they dug him up after he had been dead for awhile and then placed him in six coffins in the middle of a huge room), the most high tech museum I have ever been too for the French leader during WWII, a giant arch whose name I cannot recall, Norte Dame, several other famous cathedrals, and of course Versailles (we were actually there during the French 4th of Julyish celebration which had to do with their revelution).
We had many great battles though too. The metro gates were fickle and brutle. We had to hop a couple because they would not take our tickets. Transportation is expensive so we took a nice little hour hike one day through the city. The weather was crazy (more on that later though). We climed SO MANY stairs. We had to use sketchy bathrooms in moments of extreme need (carry hand sanitizer everywhere and don't touch anything!). And of course we had to avoid the hoards of people selling illegal goods (and they were everywhere and very pushy).
All and all though, not too bad I would saw. It was a great city.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Barcelona sin espanol
You heard right. Those tricky barcelonians are not into Spanish at all. They speak Catalan which was best described to me as a language between languages. It may sound a bit like spanish but trust me, it is not.
We only spent a few days here but it was a great city. As usual, one must be careful of crazy drivers but the streets are wide and spacious or close and cramped. Shopping is a hard core sport right up there with "Futbol" aka Soccer and Rugby. We checked out the La Ramba for most of the day. It is a long street where you can get a true taste of Barcelona life.
We saw street performers up to whazoo and they sell everything there. A baby duck costs 6 euros. I almost bought one but I thought that I might have a hard time getting it on a plane. They also sold squirrles!!
Later on we check out some more art at the Picasso Museum. He was actually normal at some point. Who knew?
We stayed at some dorms that were being rented out over the summer and let me tell you they were WAY better than OSU. Only in our neighborhod though could you see hookers working the conners and getting picked up as well as a birgade of 14 years olds asking everybody in sight for cigarettes. I assume that they will have no problem though because the 15 year old French girls we met in Valencia chain smoked like no other and they managed to gfet those cigarettes from someswhere.
Best news of all... We didn't get pickpocketed on the metro like everyone said we would (we must have looked too poor, haha).
We only spent a few days here but it was a great city. As usual, one must be careful of crazy drivers but the streets are wide and spacious or close and cramped. Shopping is a hard core sport right up there with "Futbol" aka Soccer and Rugby. We checked out the La Ramba for most of the day. It is a long street where you can get a true taste of Barcelona life.
We saw street performers up to whazoo and they sell everything there. A baby duck costs 6 euros. I almost bought one but I thought that I might have a hard time getting it on a plane. They also sold squirrles!!
Later on we check out some more art at the Picasso Museum. He was actually normal at some point. Who knew?
We stayed at some dorms that were being rented out over the summer and let me tell you they were WAY better than OSU. Only in our neighborhod though could you see hookers working the conners and getting picked up as well as a birgade of 14 years olds asking everybody in sight for cigarettes. I assume that they will have no problem though because the 15 year old French girls we met in Valencia chain smoked like no other and they managed to gfet those cigarettes from someswhere.
Best news of all... We didn't get pickpocketed on the metro like everyone said we would (we must have looked too poor, haha).
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Valencia Lobsters
BEWARE:
30spf does not hold up against the Spanish sun. Valencia was AMAZING though. We stayed right on the beach (literally) and spent all day soaking up the rays. We stayed at another B&B (because they are cheap) and had a killer dinner of Paella (tradition Spanish dish) and Sangria (a sweet wine drink). It was delicious and we chatted it up with some other students for the Netherlands for several hours since the Spanish like their dinners at 10:00pm.
The beach was awesome and the water was super warm (YEAH for the Mediterranean). We bought some food from the market and had a picnic on the beach. The only downside... we are looking rather lobsterish today... Carrying the backpacks hurt!
30spf does not hold up against the Spanish sun. Valencia was AMAZING though. We stayed right on the beach (literally) and spent all day soaking up the rays. We stayed at another B&B (because they are cheap) and had a killer dinner of Paella (tradition Spanish dish) and Sangria (a sweet wine drink). It was delicious and we chatted it up with some other students for the Netherlands for several hours since the Spanish like their dinners at 10:00pm.
The beach was awesome and the water was super warm (YEAH for the Mediterranean). We bought some food from the market and had a picnic on the beach. The only downside... we are looking rather lobsterish today... Carrying the backpacks hurt!
Madrid - Round 2
So, we found ourselves in Madrid again and let me tell you... it looks just like Eastern Oregon or Bend for that matter (and we all know how I feel about that). So our stay was shortened to a day were we visited the Prado (a very famous art museum) and walked around the city a bit. Bryan actually bought something - I was in shock (even though it was just a t-shirt).
We then jetted off to the coast to spend our sunny days at the beach where the heat could be appreciated to its fullest. Yeah for Valencia!
We then jetted off to the coast to spend our sunny days at the beach where the heat could be appreciated to its fullest. Yeah for Valencia!
Lisbon or San Fran...?
That was the question that we were asking ourselves when we got there. We arrived super early thanks to a night train (comfort cost extra just fyi so we toughed it out) and then spent the next couple of hours very lost thanks to a misprint on the address on our directions.
No worries though, 4 hours, 3 metro rides, 2 taxis, and a payphone call later we made it. We stayed at this very cool B&B on the fourth floor of one of the thousands of high-rise apartments. (A fire would kill everybody!) We stayed with this nice lady named Gracia who told where to go in Lisbon during the next couple of days. She also made us breakfast which was a major plus and the shower was AMAZING!!
Bryan and I agree that Lisbon is very... HOT so if you visit come prepared. The first day (after being lost all morning with heavy backpacks) we decided ¨What the Heck?!¨and got another mode of transportation. We rented a car and drove around the city and up to a castle. Luckily, the Portugese drive on the same side of the road that we do but they are CRAZY drivers (like our mother, haha). Since it was Sunday though it was not too bad.
We talked to the car guy for awhile because he was close to our age and spoke 6 languages. He told us that the Portugese do not like it when you speak spanish in Portugal because the Spanish expect them to speak spanish in Spain so when in Portugal people should speak Portugese. Sounds like some bad blood to us so we just stuck with english.
We saw some of the sights in the city with included HUGE churches, monuments, statues, shopping and of course public transportation. They even have the San Fran Bridge although they claim that theirs was built first (we will have to wikipedia that one because we also noticed that they have the HUGE Brazil Jesus monument).
All and all a cool (very hot) city. Mom - You would not do well, sorry.
No worries though, 4 hours, 3 metro rides, 2 taxis, and a payphone call later we made it. We stayed at this very cool B&B on the fourth floor of one of the thousands of high-rise apartments. (A fire would kill everybody!) We stayed with this nice lady named Gracia who told where to go in Lisbon during the next couple of days. She also made us breakfast which was a major plus and the shower was AMAZING!!
Bryan and I agree that Lisbon is very... HOT so if you visit come prepared. The first day (after being lost all morning with heavy backpacks) we decided ¨What the Heck?!¨and got another mode of transportation. We rented a car and drove around the city and up to a castle. Luckily, the Portugese drive on the same side of the road that we do but they are CRAZY drivers (like our mother, haha). Since it was Sunday though it was not too bad.
We talked to the car guy for awhile because he was close to our age and spoke 6 languages. He told us that the Portugese do not like it when you speak spanish in Portugal because the Spanish expect them to speak spanish in Spain so when in Portugal people should speak Portugese. Sounds like some bad blood to us so we just stuck with english.
We saw some of the sights in the city with included HUGE churches, monuments, statues, shopping and of course public transportation. They even have the San Fran Bridge although they claim that theirs was built first (we will have to wikipedia that one because we also noticed that they have the HUGE Brazil Jesus monument).
All and all a cool (very hot) city. Mom - You would not do well, sorry.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
The Fourth of July
I am just not sure how much this holiday is recognized outside of the US... which is to be expected of course.
We greeted the day early with a flight to Madrid (why there was so many people at the airport a 5:00am, I have no idea). We caught a sketch ride in a taxi to the airport which ended up being a good thing because security took forever, ugh.
Madrid was really hot. We mostly chilled at the train station because we had to catch a night train to Lisbon. If it counts though, we did see the Ben Franklin house a couple of days earlier in London... So we acknowleged this great day by eating a cheeseburger at Burger King! Yeah for Independence and Franchises!
We greeted the day early with a flight to Madrid (why there was so many people at the airport a 5:00am, I have no idea). We caught a sketch ride in a taxi to the airport which ended up being a good thing because security took forever, ugh.
Madrid was really hot. We mostly chilled at the train station because we had to catch a night train to Lisbon. If it counts though, we did see the Ben Franklin house a couple of days earlier in London... So we acknowleged this great day by eating a cheeseburger at Burger King! Yeah for Independence and Franchises!
YEAH for Ireland!
Let be be the first to tell you that Ireland Rocks!! We only spent a short time there but it was great none the less.
We stayed at a hostel called the Abigail right on Temple Bar. For those of you who do not know, Temple Bar is an artsy district with... well... lots of bars. Lets just say when we had to wake up at 4 in the morning to catch a plane to Madrid (It was the only flight that day), we could still hear people outside singing away.
While we were there, we saw the Dublin Castle (it is now underground so that tour was pretty cool), St. Patrick´s Cathedral, the Stiletto in the ghetto (a huge nettle looking tower thingy in the middle of O´Connor St) and perfected our beer pour skills by pour a Guinness from tap (Kim made a clover design in her foam).
The next day was super cool though because we took a tour bus into the Wicklow Mountains. It was really nice to get of the city for a change. The guide was really cool and we learned a lot of Irish History. We saw the beach, the bog lands, hidden lakes, and a 16th century church. It was the only tour that I have ever been on where we stopped on top of a mountain to take a break and take shots... must be a Irish thing.
We also met some kids from Virginia and Germany who were staying in our room. They were pretty cool and we had dinner with them one night. They are doing the same thing that we are this summer, basically being bums.
Ireland is for you if you like or can handle the following...
Beer
Golf
Rain
Late Night Singing
Cool Accents
And more Beer!
We stayed at a hostel called the Abigail right on Temple Bar. For those of you who do not know, Temple Bar is an artsy district with... well... lots of bars. Lets just say when we had to wake up at 4 in the morning to catch a plane to Madrid (It was the only flight that day), we could still hear people outside singing away.
While we were there, we saw the Dublin Castle (it is now underground so that tour was pretty cool), St. Patrick´s Cathedral, the Stiletto in the ghetto (a huge nettle looking tower thingy in the middle of O´Connor St) and perfected our beer pour skills by pour a Guinness from tap (Kim made a clover design in her foam).
The next day was super cool though because we took a tour bus into the Wicklow Mountains. It was really nice to get of the city for a change. The guide was really cool and we learned a lot of Irish History. We saw the beach, the bog lands, hidden lakes, and a 16th century church. It was the only tour that I have ever been on where we stopped on top of a mountain to take a break and take shots... must be a Irish thing.
We also met some kids from Virginia and Germany who were staying in our room. They were pretty cool and we had dinner with them one night. They are doing the same thing that we are this summer, basically being bums.
Ireland is for you if you like or can handle the following...
Beer
Golf
Rain
Late Night Singing
Cool Accents
And more Beer!
Friday, July 3, 2009
London Observations... O.o
Having only experienced London through films and books, I wasn't really sure what to expect but here is the basic low-down on what I observed.
- I think that they are speaking English but I can't tell for sure because I have no idea what they are saying.
- Some people may say that America is the melting pot of the world but I think London is.
- Only on the tube (underground subway thingy) can you hear 5 different languages being spoken at once in one car.
- People are running everywhere... and usually with backpacks. (I don't get it either)
- Bryan's slang foils all of the locals; it is hilarious!
- IPods are a must for locals but they hide the earphones inside their shirts, hmmm....
- Chips are not chips, they are fries. French fries do not exist because they are French and what self respecting English person would want a French fry?
- Old buildings and new buildings are side by side. You can see the history of a nation in one glance.
- English tourists are the best because they are just as confused as all the other tourists! (I guess this would be the same for me in LA though.)
- The English do not feel the need to refrigerate food like eggs or meats... this worries me greatly.
- Good news, Starbucks has a successful franchise because it tastes the same over here!
- A check is a bill, a bathroom is a toilet or a loo, ''Is it close?'' is ''Is it ready?'', take-out is take away.
- The drivers here are crazier than my mom (for those of you know her, this is a big deal).
- Platform 9 3/4 exists but apparently, we are not wizard material.
- They act like this heat wave is the end of the world (it is actually just in the 80s).
- The dark liquid in the morning is tea... not coffee :(
- I am not sure that the ''London Pass'' exists.
- It practically costs money to breathe in London so come prepared and watch out for those crazy people running with backpacks!
In a Laundry Mat - By Bryan
Currently we are spending time in a laundry mat/internet cafe to catch up on laundry and lost internet time.
London:
London was the first stop on our great adventure through Europe with nothing but a backpack. In london we spent the first three days like the rest of the American tourist going from one atraction to another. On these first days in london we covered the London Tower, the Tower Bridge, the Tate modern, a play in the Shakespeare Globe (we were late and had to run Amazing Race style), Westminster, Big Ben (which isn't as big as protrayed in some movies), Windsor Castle, Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace, the Royal Mews, and the Queen's Gallery. After these three action packed days, one would figure that we would spend a day relaxing. But we are Pendergrass/Gritzwalds and we kept trekking on. Kim spent the last two days dragging me all around London in 90 degree weather to see look at graffiti by an artist called Bansky. Our Hostel was okay but it was more focused toward the bar on the ground floor. While at the bar we met several drunken old men who we couldn't understand at all. We flew out last wednesday to Dublin. Yeah for cooler weather!
London:
London was the first stop on our great adventure through Europe with nothing but a backpack. In london we spent the first three days like the rest of the American tourist going from one atraction to another. On these first days in london we covered the London Tower, the Tower Bridge, the Tate modern, a play in the Shakespeare Globe (we were late and had to run Amazing Race style), Westminster, Big Ben (which isn't as big as protrayed in some movies), Windsor Castle, Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace, the Royal Mews, and the Queen's Gallery. After these three action packed days, one would figure that we would spend a day relaxing. But we are Pendergrass/Gritzwalds and we kept trekking on. Kim spent the last two days dragging me all around London in 90 degree weather to see look at graffiti by an artist called Bansky. Our Hostel was okay but it was more focused toward the bar on the ground floor. While at the bar we met several drunken old men who we couldn't understand at all. We flew out last wednesday to Dublin. Yeah for cooler weather!
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