So begins my 'vacation' over Holy Week with my dad.
I left from Caceres on Friday (March 26th) at 6AM and got into Madrid around 10:40 or so since our bus driver was being slow, got on the metro with 2 other girls from our program that happened to be on the same bus and going to the airport that morning for Scotland. Arrival in Barajas was typical and I hurried my way along the terminals until I got to the Food Gallery which I thought was to be our meeting point. I got there around 11:30 or so and after scouring the area and not finding my father I got out and my sandwich from home and ate. I waited, started watching a movie and eventually walked around looking. About 2 I bought some internet and registered for my classes for next semester, chatted with my mother briefly who having no idea where he was either said i needed to find out. I looked around so some, called my mother after having no idea where my father was, she still hadn't heard from him either, so I had to try and find him and started asking security guards if I could try and find him, or to check to see if he was still in the terminal, or if he didn't make it on the plane, but they were of very little help. Eventually while I was at a pay phone talking to my mother, my dad appeared right beside me! Surprise! Apparently he was only a 5-10 walk farther down the terminal at the other cafeteria with the large sign labeled 'meeting point', and the calling card numbers weren't working so he wasn't a good amount of money trying to call but it never actually went through.
So about 4, my dad and I left from Barajas airport well over 4 hours after initially expected, and plus a headache of stress.
We found our hostal well enough, a little bit...janky, but the guy was nice enough.We went out our first night for tapas, sampled a couple different bars and slept in the next morning. On Saturday we took a day trip to El Escorial, the royal palaces where all the kings of Spain are buried. We had planned to go to the Valley of the Fallen, but apparently renovations were going on, so we just ended up skipping the Valley and spending more time at El Escorial and then upon getting back to Madrid we stopped at El Corte Ingles and bought food for the next next as well.
Sunday we tried to get to the Reina Sofia, but we slept in and apparently the museum closes at 2, so we just ended up going to the Royal Gardens instead and then making our way to the Prado and spending the rest of the day there, definitely wouldn't have minded spending some more time there though...
Monday we had planned to take a trip to Toledo and got up relatively early to make it to the Train station and get a ticket on the 9:20 bus, but once we finally got to the ticket office after waiting in line for a solid 20 minutes, we found out all the buses were full up until the 12:30. huh...that didn't go according to plan. So we hung out around the Madrid bus station, which was kind of nice actually since we got some coffee, ate my breakfast, checked in our bags at a luggage, checked out the weird rainforest thing in the main area. So, we eventually got on our train, and got to Toledo about 1. We took a bus up the hill and toured the cathedral until about 2:45, when I realized our train leaves at 3:30. So we started going, found our way back to the main area, caught the bus back down to the train station after nearly getting run over by the guy driving the bus, we got down to the train station about 5 minutes before our train left. We went in, and got stopped at security and was told that we couldn't get on the train because it was too late as they close the gates 2 minutes before it leaves, but the doors were still open, but he just wouldn't let us get on. So eventually we gave up, I got angry and kicked a bench, and we went and bought new tickets for 5:30, which we barely got on anyways since it was nearly sold out as well. So we decided to just stick around the bus station, rather than risk taking a bus back up to the touristy area and risk being late again as we only had an hour or so left after all was said and done. We made it to the train station about 6:10, our flight was to leave at 8, so we got our luggage, ran to the metro, got the airport, scrambled through security, and got to the terminal. Unfortunately as always, Ryanair was late, huge lines, but we arrived safely in Hahn.
We managed to catch the 12:30 bus from Hahn to Koblenz, but it was kind of an adventure getting there anyways, and we got good directions from an English speaking taxi driver and made it to our BnB okay after jumping a 6 lane highway late at night. So I'm here, waiting for my dad to get back from wherever he went, and I got kicked out as housekeeper came knocking, and that's where I'm stopping for now. Until later, Greetings from Koblenz.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Valencia
sorry for the long long gap in time, but unfortunately school and weekend trips have been fully occupying my time, since I usually have about an average of 2 papers per week, various worksheets, and then we always take trips on the weekends, so these days I barely have time to even get the next week's trip planned, but hopefully I'll get my older day trips up so I don't forget them as well! This weekend I'm in Valencia to celebrate Las Fallas. So I'll start there.
I am currently in a bocatta eating a 6 euro salad and using their Wifi. So begins Las Fallas.
I left Caceres at 6 and arrived at the Madrid bus station at 10, and then waited around for 3 hours for my bus to leave from Madrid to get to Valencia. Didn't sleep at the bus station as I wasn't sure if I'd wake back up, but I did sleep a little on the 4 hour bus ride to Valencia resulting in my neck and legs hurting since nothing is spain is big enough for me to comfortably use.
I got into Valencia about 5:15 or so, ate a sandwich, found a place to sit and waited. I had my feet up on the row of benches and a security guard came by and said "Sientate bien" and at first I was just, "como?" and the said, "feet on the floor" (in spanish of course) and I was just taken aback since I've never seen a security guard that polices the chairs.
Upon arriving in Valencia, I went into the nearest cafe in the bus station, ate my donuts that I bought in Madrid, and fell asleep on a table for about an hour or so. When I woke up, I didn't feel like going back to sleep so I decided to leave for the streets of Valencia. I had a map, but as the streets are never labeled I had to ask where I was and started walking. It seemed nice, but then I got to the main area in town and the Botellon's from the night before where just starting to wind down, this was about 7 or so. Granted, the streets were completely trashed, broken glass, 2 liters of coke, tobacco, the streets were slimy and slippery from all the 'refuse' and it reeks of urine. I mean, just walking through the streets I witnessed at least 3 guys peeing in a corner, and then happily walking off sure that no one noticed. Ever so sneaky.
I found my way through the crowds to the hostal and figured I couldn't check in till 12 so I just scouted the area. On the way back from the hostal after finding it's location and using their -clean! *gasp*- bathrooms the Botellon was mostly dispersed and the cleaning crews were moving in. First came the street sweepers to get the big stuff, then came the golf carts with brushes, hoses, and vacuums to pick up more trash, and then came the guys with fire hoses spraying down the streets, and then came the golfcarts that had high pressure nozzles that sprayed and scrubbed the area around them. Even then, it was still a little gross, but so much better. It was kind of fun to watch actually....
I then just started wandering, and began encountering drunk people on their way home. Most of them just passed, but a good number would stop and try to talk to me about something, like asking for a lighter and then asking why I don't smoke and how weird that is. One particularly chatty group of Spaniards outside of a Churro stand I talked with for 20 minutes or so... I swear the one girl was very drunk, but when I asked the sober guy he was just like "She's not dunk, she's just crazy. Spanish women are different than those in the US, am I right?" (spanish) I didn't mind talking to the guy since he could kind of form decent sentences in english, and seemed totally in control, while the girl had chocolate smeared around her mouth and was very umm...happy? I don't know, but regardless, the guy asked if I wanted to go get coffee tomorrow at 4, so he gave me his phone number and then I left. We'll see if I actually go or not, perhaps if I have nothing else to do tomorrow at 4.
That brings me about to here, which is where my battery is about dead, and I've been nursing the remains of my soda for the past 20 minutes. I may come back here if I need the wifi, but until then I'm out of time.
I am currently in a bocatta eating a 6 euro salad and using their Wifi. So begins Las Fallas.
I left Caceres at 6 and arrived at the Madrid bus station at 10, and then waited around for 3 hours for my bus to leave from Madrid to get to Valencia. Didn't sleep at the bus station as I wasn't sure if I'd wake back up, but I did sleep a little on the 4 hour bus ride to Valencia resulting in my neck and legs hurting since nothing is spain is big enough for me to comfortably use.
I got into Valencia about 5:15 or so, ate a sandwich, found a place to sit and waited. I had my feet up on the row of benches and a security guard came by and said "Sientate bien" and at first I was just, "como?" and the said, "feet on the floor" (in spanish of course) and I was just taken aback since I've never seen a security guard that polices the chairs.
Upon arriving in Valencia, I went into the nearest cafe in the bus station, ate my donuts that I bought in Madrid, and fell asleep on a table for about an hour or so. When I woke up, I didn't feel like going back to sleep so I decided to leave for the streets of Valencia. I had a map, but as the streets are never labeled I had to ask where I was and started walking. It seemed nice, but then I got to the main area in town and the Botellon's from the night before where just starting to wind down, this was about 7 or so. Granted, the streets were completely trashed, broken glass, 2 liters of coke, tobacco, the streets were slimy and slippery from all the 'refuse' and it reeks of urine. I mean, just walking through the streets I witnessed at least 3 guys peeing in a corner, and then happily walking off sure that no one noticed. Ever so sneaky.
I found my way through the crowds to the hostal and figured I couldn't check in till 12 so I just scouted the area. On the way back from the hostal after finding it's location and using their -clean! *gasp*- bathrooms the Botellon was mostly dispersed and the cleaning crews were moving in. First came the street sweepers to get the big stuff, then came the golf carts with brushes, hoses, and vacuums to pick up more trash, and then came the guys with fire hoses spraying down the streets, and then came the golfcarts that had high pressure nozzles that sprayed and scrubbed the area around them. Even then, it was still a little gross, but so much better. It was kind of fun to watch actually....
I then just started wandering, and began encountering drunk people on their way home. Most of them just passed, but a good number would stop and try to talk to me about something, like asking for a lighter and then asking why I don't smoke and how weird that is. One particularly chatty group of Spaniards outside of a Churro stand I talked with for 20 minutes or so... I swear the one girl was very drunk, but when I asked the sober guy he was just like "She's not dunk, she's just crazy. Spanish women are different than those in the US, am I right?" (spanish) I didn't mind talking to the guy since he could kind of form decent sentences in english, and seemed totally in control, while the girl had chocolate smeared around her mouth and was very umm...happy? I don't know, but regardless, the guy asked if I wanted to go get coffee tomorrow at 4, so he gave me his phone number and then I left. We'll see if I actually go or not, perhaps if I have nothing else to do tomorrow at 4.
That brings me about to here, which is where my battery is about dead, and I've been nursing the remains of my soda for the past 20 minutes. I may come back here if I need the wifi, but until then I'm out of time.
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