So it has been awhile since my last blog. I have mostly just been going to class, cooking food and eating lots, and spending way too much money, along with hanging out with my new friends, and of course making memories to last a lifetime! I have been doing quite a bit of travelling since my last blog. I went to London for four days and then was home for one day and then left for Portugal and Spain for a week. It was so much fun! Madison accompanied me to London where we met up with a good friend of mine, Drake, and his friend (now my new friend) Garrett. They're both in the honors program at MSSU, so it was nice to see faces from home! I had been talking to Drake before they left trying to see when they would be there so that I could plan a trip to come visit and see London. Madison came along with me and thank goodness she did! Some of you that I have talked to since coming to Germany (and I may have mentioned it on my blog) have heard me complain about Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. If you haven't heard me complain about it, I'll just fill you in, sorry for those of you who have already heard or read my rant. It is literally the WORST airport ever. The workers are rude and not helpful, the bathrooms are gross, and it is just too big and hard to navigate. I have now been through that airport three times and every time it gets worse. My first time, I had no idea what to do or where to go and anytime I asked for help I either got "No English" or I received instructions in terrible English that I couldn't understand. This was also a problem the two times after that one. So I have just given up on ever having a good experience there. So moral of the rant, avoid Charles de Gaulle airport if possible. Now back to my original story. So Madison and I arrived at the Stansted airport in London after flying from Bremen via RyanAir (a super cheap flight company that needs to be a thing in the US), once in the airport we had to go through border patrol because we were entering a Non-EU country. For those of you who have never done this before, you just wait in line and fill out a card saying who you are, what you're doing in the country, and how long you'll be staying. Once you make it to the desk with a police officer, you show them the card with your information and they check your passport to make sure you have the necessary visa to enter the country. Being from the US, we don't have to have one to enter London, but since we were coming from Germany, they had to check to make sure we legally entered there first. So the officer checks Madison's passport, no problem. He then proceeds to check mine, and he starts flipping back and forth through the pages and he asks "Where's your visa from entering Europe back in February when you said you first arrived?" (He had previously asked us what we were doing in Europe so we told him we were studying abroad in Bremen and had been since the end of February so he was checking to see if we had the visas for entering the country then). I wasn't really sure what he meant at first, that he couldn't find it, because there was no way it couldn't be there. I had flown into Charles de Gaulle, Paris airport from Atlanta back in February and obviously had to go through border patrol there or I wouldn't have been able to enter the country. So I then began to frantically look through my passport, flipping the pages and checking front and back. It wasn't there. Luckily I had gone home back in April for my brother's wedding, so my visas were in there from entering the US and then re-entering into Europe again at the Paris airport. But no visa stamp for my first entry back in February. So of course my story just sounded kind of fishy after telling him that and then not having the visa stamp to prove it. But thank goodness he was a kind British gentleman who let me go in only because Madison was with me and her passport had the proper visa stamp. So moral of this long story is always check to make sure that your passport gets the proper visa stamp when entering new countries. And never go to Charles de Gaulle airport because not only are the workers rude and the bathrooms gross, but their border police forget to stamp your passport which can lead to potential arrest and deportation. So again, thank goodness Madison went with me and thank goodness the border policeman in London was nice.
Besides the fiasco at border patrol in London, it was really great! London is super nice with lots of super friendly people. And the best part is they speak English! It was so nice to be surrounded by people that I could understand and that could understand me! You don't realize how awesome it is to be able to communicate with someone without any problems until you live in a country where their native language is not English. It's really the little things that make the biggest impact :) So not only was that nice, but the people were really friendly! I know it probably seems like I dog on Germans about being rude, but there really is a difference in culture and behavior amongst the countries I have visited thus far, and Germans are still the least friendly, but I have come to learn it's not because they're rude, it's just how their culture is. They are not friendly people. They are very straight and to the point. They don't like small talk. It's yes or no, Hello and Bye. They are efficient and direct, which to me coming from a small town USA, where everybody knows everybody, it's hard to adjust to such cold people. So Brits are nicer than Germans. Also London was super awesome because I got to visit some iconic buildings and scenery from my beloved Harry Potter movies. (Yes I said beloved. I am a bit obsessed. Don't judge.) And along with the Harry Potter places, we also made a stop to 221 Baker Street to see the Sherlock Holmes building. That was pretty much all I wanted to do in London so I could have went back then, but of course we saw all of the popular landmarks, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, etc. Don't get me wrong I was happy to see all of these things too, I was just more excited for anything involving Harry Potter. Our hostel wasn't exactly the greatest though... It was an old prison turned into a hostel, so our room "upgrade" was an old jail cell. Yes, it had the bunk beds and toilet in the corner and everything. It looked exactly like in the movies, except for the jail bars, there was an actual door, but with no handle on the inside, just a button on the wall that had to be pushed to open the door from the inside. Just overall very sketchy place to sleep. But other than that the hostel was pretty cool. The people and atmosphere was really cool and there was a good kitchen. So overall, London was a success. I would definitely recommend anyone to go there and I would love to go back someday, so if anyone is interested, I will join you :)
After flying home from London on the following Monday morning, I then proceeded to do laundry and sleep because I was leaving for Portugal and Spain the next day for a whole week! The following day, a Tuesday, we (me, Anil, Tuba, and Busra, all three are a few of my new friends from Turkey) took the free train to Hamburg, and then boarded our plane for Porto, Portugal. The plane ride wasn't too long and I sat by the sweetest couple who were natives of Porto. Only the husband spoke English, but he was so friendly and very chatty, but I didn't mind. He told me about cool places to see in Porto and what kinds of foods to eat. So the next morning we started our adventure around Porto. It was a beautiful city with lots of interesting old buildings to see, lots of bridges, and lots of spectacular views along the river. I definitely wish we would have had more time there, one day was just not enough to see everything. At the end of the day we boarded a flight to Madrid to begin our Spain adventure.
Madrid was a nice city, but it was a bit disappointing... There wasn't a whole lot to see or maybe we just didn't know what to see. There was a few good places, but once we saw those, the rest was a bit boring, so maybe I'll give Madrid another shot one day when I have more time to just walk around and enjoy the city versus running from place to place to see all the "important" sites. Then we boarded yet another plane to the beautiful island of Ibiza.
Oh Ibiza! It was wonderfullllllll. I had never been to an island before so it was a real treat. I don't know if any of you have ever heard of Ibiza, but it is a very well-known place to party. Right before our flight landed a group of guys, I assumed a bachelor party or birthday because only one guy was wearing a sash and tutu, were yelling and cheering. It was rather interesting. If any of you know me, you know that that drinking and partying isn't my thing, but there was plenty to do on the island instead of that. Of course the beach was great. We took ferry to a neighboring island called, Formentera, where we went to a popular stretch of beach there called la Playa Illetes, and then to one section called Ministria. It was so beautiful. The weather could have been better because it was a bit cloudy and the water was rather cold, but it was still enjoyable. And just my luck the sun came out on our ferry ride back to Ibiza and I fell asleep all sprawled out across two benches and got sunburned on only the front half of my body; the tops of my arms, legs, and feet, and my nose. It was quite funny for the rest of the day until it turned bright red and the pain set in. Luckily the pain subsided by morning. but the bright color was still visible. It was very hard to leave Ibiza simply because it was just so peaceful and inviting. I would love to go back and spend a week there to just soak up as much sun as possible and live the island life. We then boarded yet another plane to our final destination in Spain, Barcelona.
Now let me tell you, Barcelona was great. It was definitely better than Madrid because there was tons more to see and our Air-BNB apartment was so niceeeee and the owner was so sweet! It was a bit far away from the city center, but it was a great accommodation and price for the three days we stayed. Unfortunately for us, our first day in Barcelona it rained. This put a damper on our plans, but it worked out because we all got to catch up on our sleep from all of the previous travels. We started bright and early the next morning to start exploring the beautiful city. We got to see lots of interesting buildings by some famous architects, I don't know their names, but Busra, who's an architect major, said they were significant, so I took pictures. We got to see the famous Sagrada de Familia, which was massive, but since it's not finished it's kind of hard to see its beauty and it was too expensive to enter on top of the 5 hour waiting time so we just took some pictures and admired the outside of the building. Just walking down the street, the houses were very beautiful. And then we went to the famous beach, Barceloneta. It was so crowded! We had to walk quite a ways down to the beach to find an open spot and once we did the wind started to blow and sand was flying everywhere! And once we left I was covered in it. I had it in pretty much every crack and crevice where sand could hide, it was quite annoying, but I suppose it was worth it because not many people can say they got to spend their afternoon on a beach in Barcelona, Spain. We also had the opportunity to ride a "Teleferic" which is like a sky lift sort of thing, but with an enclosed car that you ride across the sky to another tower. It was definitely worth the money because it provided spectacular views of the city from multiple angles! Unfortunately our stay in Barcelona had a few bad experiences. For one there were WAY to many people on the street selling things like purses, shoes, toys, you name it, they were selling. Now I understand people have to make a living, but by the end of our time in Barcelona I was so very annoyed. When we would just walk down the street they would come up to you and get in your face and try to sell you there overpriced knock-off items. "NO, I DO NOT WANT TO BUY A STUPID SELFIE STICK!" became a very common phrase for me. Sometimes I felt harassed. One guy grabbed my arm and I about punched him in the face. (Sorry for the violent talk, you need to go there to experience it to understand my annoyance.) But these vendors weren't even the half of it. I had the scariest experience that I have had so far in Europe on our last night in Barcelona. Anil, Tuba, and I were returning to our apartment for the evening so we had to take the Metro. While entering the Metro station, I kept getting this eerie feeling that someone was right behind me. It's always crowded in the Metro stations in Europe so I lost all sense of personal space a long time ago so I normally don't get feelings like that, but for some reason I did. So I turned around and thank goodness I did because there was a man wearing black jacket with his hands in the outer pocket of my backpack. I can't even begin to describe the feeling of terror I felt. I immediately yelled "What the heck are you doing???!!?" (Disclaimer: I may have used other words.) The man immediately pulled his hands back and placed them up to show he had nothing in his hands and then I ran off towards the platform and to find Anil and Tuba, who had made it farther ahead of me. I have never been so freaked out in my life! Luckily I am smart and don't keep anything important in any of the outer pockets of my backpack, so the guy didn't have anything to take but a couple pens, a package of tissues, or a map of Barcelona. Once on the Metro I was able to see if he did take anything, nothing was missing, woohoo! But I was rattled so I wore my backpack on my front instead of my back for the rest of the night. So yes, Barcelona was a beautiful city full of wonderful things to see and kind people, but it also showed us its dark side which I was not so fond of. Would I go back given the chance? Yes. Will I wear a fanny pack instead of a backpack? For sure.
So despite the mishap in Barcelona, I had a wonderful time with my new friends on our week long adventure to Portugal and Spain and would do it all again, but next time have more time in Porto and Ibiza, less in Madrid, and not wear my backpack, but instead wear a fanny pack and a shirt that reads "NO, I do not want to buy your crap!" in Barcelona.
Here's some pictures for your viewing pleasure:
Porto, Portugal
Inside of the above pictured Catedral do Porto (Cathedral of Porto)
Inside of some small church that didn't look very spectacular from the outside, but once we walked in we were so surprised!
We went to a public park and there were peacocks everywhere just roaming around. I think it must have been mating season or something because anytime a female peacock got near a male they would fan out their feathers and squawk. It was quite a sight. We saw this multiple times, but this one was kind enough to pose for us.
This was a traditional Portuguese dish that the kind man on the plane recommended to me. It's called Francesinha. It was rather interesting, but delicious!!
It was bread with different types of meat inside, ham, steak, some kind of spicy sausage, and cheese, all wrapped in cheese and covered in some kind of tomato gravy with fries.
One of the various bridges in Porto
View of the city from the bridge pictured below
This bridge is very famous because it is the only bridge in Europe or something like that, that both cars and metro can go across. Metro across the top and cars across the bottom.
Madrid, Spain:
The beautiful Palacio Real y Catedral de La Almundena
The beautiful garden next to the palace
This amazing building made of all glass called the Palacio de Cristal "Crystal Palace"
Ibiza, Spain:
Not sure if you can tell or not, but this was after my lovely sunburn on just the front half of my body
The next few are just various views of Ibiza
Going to specific restaurants on a specific side of Ibiza is a must while there to see the famous sunsets. This picture doesn't do it justice. It was gorgeous and definitely worth fighting through all the people to get a spot!
Sorry I didn't add any pictures of the beach. They're all on my camera and I didn't feel like messing with that so I only uploaded the ones from my phone.
Barcelona, Spain:
Barceloneta
Sagrada de Familia
Tuba, me, Busra, not pictured because he was taking the picture, Anil
Teleferic, is the Spainish word for it. I'm not sure of the English name, but who cares the name, it was cool!
I forgot to mention earlier in the blog the reason for the lack of pictures from the beaches. So Ibiza was my first experience at a European beach and it is very different than beaches in America for two reasons. Boobs and speedos. I think I saw more boobs at both the beach in Ibiza and Barcelona than I even see of my own. European women are very confident with their bodies. Go them! And guys wear speedos... like all of them.. I don't think they know what swim trunks are. So the beaches in Europe are beautiful and you should definitely go, just be prepared to see more of people than you may want to and be careful taking pictures so as not to look like a creep.
So that may have been my last, long adventure as my money is starting to deplete faster than I anticipated, but that is okay because finals are near so I need to start studying and preparing for them. I can't believe I'll be home in 29 days! It's going by so fast! I know it will be bittersweet to leave, but I can't wait to see my family and my boyfriend and my friends! Hope all is well with everyone!
