Living in Barca and my adventures through life
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
living
California Girls - oh that song is wayyy over played
Now you’re in New York,
These streets will make you feel brand new,
The lights will inspire you,
Lets here it for New York, New York, New York"
Three blondes took over New York. Courtney and I stayed with one of our sorority sister's (also my real sister's good friend) and her husband on Long Island. It was so nice to relax for two days, work out, catch up on things, and sleep in an uber comfy bed! The bad thing- we didn't make it into the city during the day. It was farrrrr too hot to step outside and we have both been there several times. :( BUT I have made major progress- I ate sushi- and actually liked it! I have come to realize that sushi is a common social outing so I need to suck it up and like it. We went to a fabulous sushi restaurant in the city, and finished the night dancing our tails off at a quaint little dance club.
"California girls
We're undeniable
Fine, fresh, fierce
We got it on lock
Westcoast represent
Now put your hands up
Oooooh oh oooooh"
You should have seen us rocking out to this song- classic.
From there we were off to Boston. We were there for less than 24 hours but made the most of it. We got a beer at Cheers, walked the parks and saw the tomb stones of Mother Goose and John Hancock! I found Hancock's tombstone a very interesting choice of design.
Strange? I think so
We had tapas and sangria at Tapeo on the famous Newbury Street (shout out to Andrew) then enjoyed a night out with some locals. Their bars there are set in basements to avoid noise complaints-smart! Funny story: we watched a man swim in a fountain in the middle of the park, in broad day light, stealing all the coins. My response "is this real?" and the kids next to us "well at least he is clean!" Hhaha. Anywhoo now we are chillaxing in Philly with my wonderful Aunt and Uncle. Today we ventured out to the Amish region in PA into a town called "Intercourse."
ohhh the Amish in Intercourse
YES spelled just like that, they even had tshirts that read 'I <3 Intercourse! haha we were cracking jokes all day- and they never got old! That combined with a tour of the Hershy museum completed the day. Headed into the city for some din! Ttyl
Count down til cruise to the Bahamas: 6 days
scurrrrry journey to NYC
First off, we have lost complete track of time, day, date, even the month! If I were to date this it would read: "there are no days here."
Further I want to share this quote by FDR- "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." I fear the fact that I am scared of lightening storms. I used to love lightening and thunder, I thought they were beautiful and mysterious. Also only 70 people die a year from being struck, so no big deal-right? WRONG!
When I was in elementary school my dad and I were part of Indian Princesses (I guess it could be compared to the girl version of boy scouts.) I was "running flame" and he was "thunder bird," and we did everything from camping out on Catalina Island to skiing at Big Bear. My favorite was staying in the huge cabin in big bear- but one year things went haywire. A HUGE thunder storm rolled over and I have never heard thunder roar so loud in my life. We were all huddled in the cabin when next thing we heard was a bang, a snap, another bang, then a car alarm. YUP, the lightening struck a tree right outside the cabin, which fell onto a car-- and who's car-OURS! It took 15 men to lift the tree off of our silver volvo (aka "quicksilver") which was completely totaled. I recall being to small to sit in the front seat of the car at the time, but the tree had smashed the entire back in, so I had no where to sit but the front (of course I was a little excited about that.) And yes--we drove the smashed in car all the way home, vovlvo's back in the day were tanks, you couldn't do anything to make the damn things break even if you tried! (My first car was the exact same model but in blue- I hated it, but it was "the safest thing on the road")
Yesterday we encountered the second worst lightening storm of my life. Lightening shot from the sky less than a mile away from us, rain pored down like Niagara Falls, and the sky roared as if we were in a surround sound movie theatre. I was terrified. All i could do so pop one reeses pieces after another into my mouth, which I have realized is the WORST nervous habit ever. At first Courtney was cracking up, filming me almost crapping my pants, which of course only increased my fear. "Put the stupid camera down, you are going to get electrocuted!" As we sat in the parking lot of Target I darted my eyes around to make sure there was no trees, telephone poles, or anything that could fall on our car. I told Courtney my story about Big Bear, and she lost her composure and nervously began eating her gold fish. So there we were sitting in a parking lot, nearly crying, and shoving junk into our mouths to distract us- it was quite the experience. We waited for a lull and then darted out of there, Courtney drove while I painted my nails to distract myself (probably not the best idea, but we made it!)
But as for now I am getting summoned to get ready for a night out into NYC! So I have to run, but will ttys (talk to you soon)
Fun Fact: Maine is the only state with one syllable
CANADA .. still
So here I am, sitting in my little dorm/hostel room, sipping some champagne I got for my 21st bday (thank you pops-it's a good celebration) and enjoying my last day (finally) in Niagara Falls. Today, Patrick (the hostel owner) asked Courtney and I to stay another week-for free- to work on another project.
Our response- "we will think about it." If you know me at all, then you know that means NO. I am extremely compulsive when it comes to things I want, and Court tends to get a little upset because she likes to think about things. For me, I say "sure-why not?" In this case, it was a no. We have already skipped out on Montreal and Maine, so there is no need to stay here for another week. The heat is getting to me, and there is no way I can stand more than another night without air conditioning!
BUT our time here has been nice. We met some amazing people and have made some great friends. Two named Owen and Dan- they are traveling from Australia and have been our roomies/partners in crime for the past three days. Our first day here we went out on a jet boat and fooled around in the Niagara River- and it was absolutely beautiful!
Once you get past the touristy Clifton Hill Street (aka cheesy Disneyland on steroids) then Niagara Falls has a lot to offer. From there we went to the quaint and classy town called "Niagra-on-the-river" aka Gilmore Girls Town. From there we checked out a few wineries and headed 'home'-to our hostel
Day 2 here included more wine tasting, a hike at Niagara Gorge, and coffee and pastries in the Gilmore Town with the boys. Day 3 we walked along the falls, took some nice photos, and took a trip onto Maid of the Mist- which is a boat that takes you out right under the falls! It was beautiful- and we looked super sexy in matching blue ponchos-- hahahah NAWT! After that we enjoyed some ice cream overlooking the falls
and drove our boys to the train station :( They are offto Toronto, and our goodbyes were not an easy one. That is the beauty of hostels- you are given the opportunity to meet such a diverse group of people with at least one thing in common-- traveling! We will miss those two, but we exchanged contact info and will stay in contact (thanks to the beauty of the internet!)
Fun Fact: Actually a sad fact- less than 10% of American's own a passport!
Anywho, tomorrow we are off to NY! Wooohoooo finally I will have a phone that works (aka my iphone-aka my life!) The second we get over the border, I plan to buy some more mace (since the last one got taken,) and hit up cosco and target- boy how I miss those places. As for now ciao, hasta luego, adios!
CANADA
"Life is a series of intersecting lives and incidents, out of anyone's control."
So who knew it was illegal to have mace in Canada, because we sure didn't! My mace disguised as a perfume bottle was quickly taken and I was devastated! How was I going to defend myself? The Canadian response "buy a whistle." And to top it off the border patrol threatened to search the car, and my first thought "oh no-not the wine!" Our entrance into Canada was a little rocky but has been great ever since!
Our first night we spent in Toronto where we toured the city and went to the top of the CN tower. Sad story- I was overly excited to get a shwerma because they bring back so many amazing memories from Barcelona, but when I went to buy it the guy would not accept my debit card because it read 'visa.' I had no cash, no American money and no Canadian, so I handed the sandwich back. :( I walked out and rushed over to Subway. It is amazing how places like Subway and McDonald's have a sense of comfort and security when you are out of the US. Otherwise, I highly DISLIKE both places, but in this case a 6-inch turkey sandwich has never tasted so good.
Now we are in Niagra Falls where after one thing led to another, we ended up in a hostel called ACBB (what that means- I have NO idea). I am sweating uncontrollably in this 90 degree humid weather with no air conditioning, and sitting next to two Brazilians turned American turned Canadian. I keep telling myself that this was meant to be. We were in route of Montreal, when we decided we were too tired to tour all day then drive 8 hours, so we slowly rolled around until we found a wi fi hot spot (so we could look up a hostel to stay in). We went onto hostelworld.com and typed the address into the Garmin (which I want to kill by the way- it doesn't stop talking!) and it said "approaching destination in 400 feet." Huh, this is strange we thought. So now here we are, staying here for a couple days free in return we help market this hostel which, besides the heat is a very nice/friendly place.
Our new game to kill time in the car= the saltine challenge. We can both successfully eat 4 crackers in 60 seconds, what can you do?
The truth behind the CN tower- it has been outdone by the Burg in Dubai standing as the tallest building in the world.
CHing chinG
Day 14 Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan
Since I don't have anything written for this day the following is from Courtney
"We pull up to Grand Rapids State Park couple hours before sunset at campsite four, about to pitch a red tent meant for the woods–in the sand. Kelly pulled the tent out amidst the cluttered, stuffed to the rim trunk. She thought she knew how to set up that tent. But when it came down to it, we were both kind of clueless.
That is until Mark showed up.
But there was another problem before Mark showed up. When Kelly and I pulled pulled up two tents were already pitched in lot four. The lady in the lot next to us said we better figure it out, because there was no way we were allowed to pitch our tent behind her massive camper. (Why? Not sure.) To help clear things up the park guard came over. Turned out that Frank was supposed to be at campsite number 87 for Monday night, and number 4 the following three nights. So when he got back from playing at the beach with his four kids, the guard broke the news. Mark had to pack all of his gear, tents and food back up into his South Carolina license plated mini-van.
Talk about awkward when he showed up. However, he felt silly for acting like a dyslexic, and helped us with our tent regardless. What took two hours for us to “attempt” to figure out, took two minutes for Mark. As you can imagine, we had most of it all wrong.
What a learning experience. But thanks to Mark I am now confident that the second time around, pitching will be a piece of cake.
I recommend Grand Haven for anyone traveling through Michigan. The sunsets are to die for. Bright rustic orange colored sky turns into a deep red, just as night falls.
Ciao Michigan! Onward, CANADA!!"
In my defense I DO know how to pitch a tent- it was a brand new one that I have never used before and the pictures were horrible
Saturday, December 20, 2008
the end
Monday, December 15, 2008
Kelly Courtney Barcelona
- On top of the world! More like on top of the castle, so pretty!

- The lovely castle

- Us at the half way point to Montjuic

- View of the port from above

- View from the finicular, Las Ramblas is the snakey line filled with trees. It used to be a river that divided the city.

- Just after I bought my stunner shades.

Hi again,
- HAHAHAH Courtney getting bit by the horse in the Jewish Quarters

- The famous Charles Bridge

- Enjoying our hot wine and the view of the city! :)

- John Lennon Wall

- My favorite part of the wall.


- Enjoying our first sight of snow in over a year! :) It made is so happy

Hi family and friends,
Monday, November 17, 2008
Another Day in Barca!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Tapas and More!
- Half of us with all of our gourmet spanish food! :)
- Court and I put our Sevilla aprons to use as everyone else had plastic aprons, they were so jealous! haha
Sorry it has taken me so long to post, my computer charger is broken! :( I'm using my roommates computer until I can get a new one, but I won't be able to upload pics until then sorry!
Last Thursday our program took us to a tapas cooking class. We learned all the tricks of the spanish trade and learned how to cook tapas. We made crab salad on a baguette, pork and green peppers on bread, potatoes fritas with homemade garlic mayo and red sauce, and a spanish omlette (potoatoes and egg). I have been very open minded to all foods while I have been abroad. Eventhough I do not eat seafood, I gave the crab a try, and I didn't think it was too bad! I have also tried squid, escargo, and all types of weird sausages, my dad would be so proud! After we were done making it about 15 of us had a nice family dinner, it was so much fun! Also last week I went on a field trip with my Spanish class to an old fresh market that used to a monk sanctuary. There we interviewed clerks and clients in ONLY Spanish, it was a lot of fun and good practice. but there was a downside. One of the butchers was chopping the skull of a baby cow right in front of me and I nearly had a panic attack and I had to run outside! It was so sad :( I am an animal lover and I can't stand to see that stuff! This weekend I spent a relaxing weekend home alone. It was weird, but nice to have some down time. Next weekend im off to Prague!! Until then take care!
xoxo
Sevilla and Sunday Funday
- Our boys :)

- The beautiful Sunday Funday at the port.
- La Inglesia inside the Cathedral.. like our church apparel?!
- Using my photography skills in Sevilla.
- The cathedral in Sevilla
- The girls of the trip!
- Inside the castle.. so pretty.
Hi all,
Last weekend my program took us all to Sevila, which is a small city south of Barcelna. We left on an overnight train Thursday night and got home Sunday morning. Sevilla is much smaller than Barcelona, but the people were much friendlier and warm. The streets were wide with cable cars and horse drawn carrides. It kind of had a Disneyland feel to it. The first day there our group took us on a tour of a castle, gardens, and the cathedral, it was all very beautiful. That night we had a buffet dinner and hung out at a local bar and the next day was a free day. My roommate Courtney, my guy friends and spent the day wandering. We had lunch overlooking the central river where the food was horrible but the atmosphere was beautiful. This is how bad the food was..we ordered a "pepper and onion salad" and were shocked to get a slab of tuna, absolutely NO lettuce and just peppers and onions, and we all know I highly dislike seafood (but I tried it). My guy friend ordered a seafood salad and received a plate of mayo and canned seafood that nearly made him throw up. As each plate came to our tables we would crack up, it was quite entertaining. After lunch we went to an International Trade Fair where they had booths selling goods from all over the world. There were so many neat little gadgets and I helped the boys pick out scarfs for their moms, so cute. We enjoyed some Coronitas and continued roaming. We watched the sunset over the river and Court and I got some apron souveniers, which are so cute! We took the overnight train home and got back to Barcelona Sunday morning. Court and I went to the Catherdral for mass which was an amazing experience. There were seven head men leading the service, all in their 70-80's. They sang beautiful music and all wore white robes. There was inscence that was thrown all over the bible and the audience. Since the service took place in Catalon, we didn't understand a word they were saying, but the atmosphere and the experience was all the worthwhile. After church we went to the port and enjoyed the beautiful day, had lunch at a cute little eatery and saw two movies! And yes they were in English, it was so exciting! We saw Vicky Christina Barcelona and High School Musical 3, which I love since I think Zac Efron is such a cutie.Vicky Christina was fun to watch because it was filmed in Barca and showed all the sights that I have been too, such as Park Guell and La Pedrera. Our Sunday was a productive success and our trip to Sevilla was perfect! I hope everyone had an amzing past weekend and I will write again soon.
With love,
ME xoxo
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
HOLA
- My crazy guy friends.. rented those dancer costumes for 100 euros!! the shoes were crazy too.. too funny!

- The roomies the first night.. two devils, a rocker, and a pirate arrr

- The vacas of the night

Hola que pasa?!!?
Friday, October 31, 2008
HALLOWEEN
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
My Parents Visit
- In Sitges I decided to buy a purple wig.. and my mom and I posed with the sand masterpiece of Homer Simpson.. impressive huh!?

- The beaches of Sitges.. too bad it was cold so we couldn't see any nudes! hhaha

- Dadser and I at the top of Monterserrat, such a beautiful view!

- The fab rissotto I made for my parents! :)

- Mommacita and I in Costa Brava

- Mexican Dinner

My parents left last Thursday and I miss them so much! We had so much fun and had time to go on three side trips and some sight seeing of Barca. The first night we planned our week and walked along Las Ramblas, where my dad got gropped by a Nigerian prostitute, and Lynn got real mad and threw the large buff lady off. It was quite interesting. We then went to a bar called Dow Jones where the drinks are sold as if it were the stock market.. prices go up and down according to the sales. It was so much fun! The next day was our first day in Barca, I let the rents sleep in of course and then spent the rest of the day touring. They got to see my "flat" and experience the stairs of death, which they officially decided that a picture does not do it justice. Later we went to the Picasso museum, which was huge but very interesting because all of the rooms were separated according to the time period. He went through so many changes in his life and it was interesting to see how his art changed as well. That night (Sat) we went out to dinner to a mexican restaurant. They had a live marriachi band and authentic Mexican food! It was so so good, but of course not enough salsa for the spicy king Steve! haha. Sunday we went on a day trip to Costa Brava, which is an hour north of Barca. It is a gorgeous little beach town with hiking along the beach. We enjoyed lunch on the beach, hiking, and a little shopping. That night I invited them over and cooked them dinner. I made rissotto with sausage, chicken, and all types of veggies. They said they loved it.. but who knows! hah. That night I took them to my favorite little Sunday night bar with kareoke called George Paynes. We didn't sing, but my parents got to meet some other parents and meet some of my friends. The next day I got out of class at 12 and we were off to Mount Serrat, which is a monk town on top of a huge hill. We took a cable car up and walk around, it was gorgeous. This trip was filled of laughing and jokes and beautiful sight seeing. That night we went to popular restaurant near my parents apartment called La Fonda. The food was typical Catalon, which for the most part is not my favorite, but I got a spanish omelet and it was delicious. The next day we were off to Sitges, which is an hour south of Barca. It is a small little gay beach town with gorgeous beaches, swanky little shops, and stylish restaurants. We enjoyed the relaxing day walking around, shopping, and eating of course! Sitges was beautiful and I want to go back soon so I can go shopping! When we got back I took them to a really popular shot bar called Chupitos which is shots in Spanish. They light all their shots on fire and some have some that you take out of oranges. Every shot is like a show and a hit place for tourists. The next day was their last day :( we went to breakfast and we had to say our good byes. I had so much fun with them and now I am officially home sick. I miss them so much and want them to come back! Overall we had an amazing time and they lucked out because it is raining all this week! If anyone else wants to visit PLEASE DO! That's all for now.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Amsterdam
- At the Van Gough museum

- Some cool building.

- All us in front of the I AMsterdam letters

Hello again,
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Post Cards
Last week and J'Adore Paris
- The travelers. :)

- Notre-Dame
- One of the beautiful stained glass windows
- Birth of Venus by Bouguereau, one of my favs :)
- Eifel Tower of course
Bonjour!!