Dublin: Winging It

Updated Spain Posts:

El Mar

A Nutella and Pants Sandwich

An Inflatable Raft

Ancient Ruins

Ongoing Observations

NEW Spain Posts:

Viva Espana

Festival of St. John (the Baptist)

Flying Solo

Museum of Catalan History

Misc Other Sites in Barcelona

Of course there are other adventures in Spain, but I didn’t have pictures to go with them, so those posts are not updated

Again, Paris stuff later. I’m tired of adding picslol

Enjoy

Check out these posts, which are either new altogether, or have just been updated:

American Museum of Natural History

Times Square

Perilla!

Subway

Live From New York It’s Saturday Night!

Museum of Sex: NY

Closing Thoughts: Big Apple

I also added a category called “THE Trip 2009” so all my posts related to this epic journey will be more searchable.

And that’s all for tonight. I’ll do Dublin and Spain tomorrow. Maybe even Paris too if I’m feeling up to the challenge!

And now that I’m in the middle of a 30-some odd hour journey from Spain to the US, I’m bored. Solution: blog about the things I see lol

Barcelona.
¤ My flight is delayed 1 hour . I guess that’s ok since it brings my next layover down from 10 to just 9 hours. Sweet.
¤Everything is closing. I should have grabbed food for the flight or for later. Oh well.
¤I’m seated next the most irritating couple alive. The woman is bitching about her flats hurting her feet, which are situated on the chair between us. She then starts going off about the Harry Potter kid getting $26 mil for the last 2 movies. Best part: berating her boyfriend/husband for being too much of a bloke. “I try very hard to speak well. You should too”. Said of course in a holier-than-thou tone. To top it all off she starts whining and actually threw a tantrum because she wanted chocolate. Are you for real!

Dublin.
¤I took my sweet ass time getting off the plane. Then I leisurely made my way to passport control. Even the flight attendants passed me. I guess being after 1am made people want to get home. Not me. I have time to kill. It turns out passport control was closing by the time I mosied over haha.
¤The departures terminal is closed. There is a growing group of us on chairs by the entrance to security. I found a corner to set up my raft. The poor Japanese dude next to me must think I’m crazy.
¤The raft is hard to inflate. I’m not sure why, but air seems to be getting stuck in on of the tubes. So I’m laying on the floor in an under-inflated raft. Either way it’s better than the chairs. Or worse yet, the floor.
¤I’m hungry. The stuff in the vending machine costs 1€. I have 70 cents. I am going to break into the candy I bought for my internship. Sorry in advance guys lol.
¤I just changed my clock. It was depressing turning it back an hour. 7 more to go!
¤It’s freezing in here!

¤Finally set up the raft. People have definitely given weird looks but I’m sure they’re jealous they don’t have a raft too. I managed a couple of naps between 4 and 7 before being disturbed by someone who told me I can’t sleep here. This officially made me feel like a hobo sleeping in the streets. But look buddy if you don’t want passengers sleeping on the floor, don’t give them 10 hour layovers in the middle of the night when everything, including the terminal itself, is closed!

THE raft

*Finally made it to the terminal, got on my flight. It’s almost empty!! Choosing seat 43K really was a great idea, because the only other person in my row has the other window. Note to self, always sit in the back of the plane. Anyway, I moved from the 2 window seats to the 4 middle seats, where I stretched out and took a nappy new. 2 Benadryl + 4 airplane seats = awesome flight.

New York:

*Well I’m back in the US. Only problem: I switched airlines so now I have to recheck my luggage. But…you can only do this 4 hours in advance. My flight is in 7 hours. Awesome.

*Update: After bitching about this to J, he suggested I switch my flight. DUH. How did I overlook this possibility??

*YES. 7 hour layover reduced to 2. I’m on an earlier flight!!

The runway:

*I’m chillin on the plane, in the middle of the runway. Yes, the MIDDLE of the runway. We backed out of the gate and taxi’d for a bit, then it started raining. Well more than just raining. There’s a thunder and lightning storm and the pilot just informed us all planes are grounded. Apparently it’s not safe to take off in lightning. Whatever, at least I’m on an earlier flight. Who cares that I’m in the very last row of the plane, next to a lavatory, and stuck by the window trapped in by 2 Hasidic Jewish guys? Speaking of, I don’t think Hasidic Jews are allowed to touch members of the opposite sex. Maybe I should keep my elbows to myself. Or maybe the plane should just take off. I’m ready to go home!

….and I’m HOME!!!

For some reason I decided to share this info with Petra. Not 2 hours later I found myself in a souvenir shop in the janky bus station. The guy working there asked where I was from – England?

I smiled, thinking of these recent convos and said no. Ireland? No. Scotland? No. Though I was thinking tp myself this guy is doing a really good job of naming off 3 of the 5 countries that comprise my ethnic heritage lol.

He finally asked where I was from. I thought about saying Canada but realized Americans aren’t hated in Spain so I fessed up to my US passport. He was like “Oh America! (though he did look confused) Well then you must want …” and started pointing to some junk on the wall.

Oh I see. You were guessing I was American so you could target your sales pitch lol.

A few days later I had more time to kill at that same janky bus station so I went to the same shop. Same dude asks me “where you from – England?” lol maybe he just thinks all white English speaking people are from the UK? This time I played along and said yes. He then pointed me to a different section of stuff, so perhaps his salespitch is targeted to his specific audience. Or maybe he’s crazy.

A few days later I was in another store buying lollipops and this dude tried to sell me cans of red bull. I said no thanks but he kept pushing the issue. Finally I just said “I’m flying home tomorrow and that’s too much liquid.” he politely told me that I could check them, after all, the flight from here to the UK isn’t far.

Lol another person who thinks I’m a Brit! And I am not even pretending to have an accent. Maybe this just means I need to live in England for a while and reconnect with my roots!

I love archaeology so when I heard ruins I was hooked. Petra too. We decided to avoid the heat and lazily spend the afternoon at the shore. Of course I had not planned for this and had not had time to douse myself in SPF so I did get bright pink, but it was worth it. Especially since this bright pink decided the next day to be a part of my “tan” rather than a burn. Sweet.

For lunch I had a cheese and bacon sandwich on a baguette. YUM! I also rediscovered Fanta Naranja, and that they make a Fanta Naranja Zero.

YUM!

After more swimming it was time for the ruins. I should also mention that the port-a-potty system here rocks. They flush!! Anyway, the ruins…

These gems were discovered in 1907 yet only 25% is unearthed. I’m not sure what the holdup is, but I was an archaeology major for all of 2 months (then I realized the only thing I could do with this degree is go on digging expeditions most likely in the desert in summer. No thanks!) But either way, I’d be happy to volunteer some time if it means seeing more of this. Heck I’ll even bring my own shovel!

unearthed ruins, greek city

so much to see!

inside the museum...this reminded me of a cross between a chia pet and carla from top chef season 5 (those eyes!)

in tact grave site

a "bath" aka place of filth lol

mosaic in the Roman city

a glass mosaic. super cool

the Romans really liked their mosaics

this isn't the actual statue, but they put up a replica

an ancient dock used by the Roman city. yes, you can SWIM to the ruins and climb on them!

I just realized Petra posted on this exact same topic so I am referring to her site for the HILARIOUS account of our evening, which of course involves a good semi-public nudity story… Americans Disrobing in Spain

Bell-tower near the cafes

Um somehow both Petra and I forgot to mention the fantastic musical entertainment while we dined. I had my back turned away from him so Petra narrated for me. This made it even more hilarious.

Behind me was a man strapping himself into his accordion. He was there for quite some time before walking by the cafes. Only he didn’t play anything! He then made it back to his starting point and whipped out an ipod. We had no idea what was happening but then P realized he was warming up by pretending to play. Oh and now a woman has t down next to him. Oh and she’s got a tambourine. Finally P informed me the were getting up and coming back over.

Then the music started. It was surprisingly good, though maybe not up to our expectations after such a long wait. The single greatest musical accompaniment was the woman with the tambourine. She was just holding it. On closer inspection it would become known she was actually playing. Just the teeniest tiny little almost silent taps. As Xavi said, it was the most apathetic tambourine playing ever. And that’s what made it great.

I’ve been getting updates periodically while I’m abroad. And many of them suck. Either this rule of three thing is true or it’s just a really bad time to bee American celebrity.

Michael Jackson. The dude just drops dead. While I don’t support child molestation, I believe the world did lose a superstar.

Farrah Fawcett. I knew she had cancer but this made me sad too. It also pissed me off that I couldn’t find any headlines about her. Yeah she wasn’t as big as MJ but she was an icon nonetheless and deserved some recognition.

But wait there’s more! Billy Mays dies suddenly a couple of days later. Tragic. I love that guy.

So I’m thinking it’s over. 3 people have died. Oh contraire.

Last night I learned former Tennessee Titan quarterback Steve McNair was found shot dead. I haven’t been following today, but last I heard there were no suspects.

What the fuck?

Can celebrities please stop dying? There’s enough news I feel compelled to keep up with while I’m vacationing, I don’t need extra stuff on my plate. Plus there’s already been 3. Enough is enough!

While in Spain, I´ve had the opportunity to go to the beach on several occasions. Keep in mind I´ve been wearing my Neutrogena Sport Suncreen, spf 70. Since that´s almost gone I might switch to my regular Neutrogena, spf 100. Apparently yes they make spf 100. BTW, these products are AMAZING and I would absolutely recommend them to others. So, I was anticipating getting some color, hopefully not red, but maybe darker shades of white on this trip.

I see myself in the mirror and I am a multicolored piece of art. I hesitate to ever use the word ¨tan¨ because most people look at me when I use it and laugh. Simply stated, I usually turn darker shades of white. I used the word ¨tan¨ when I asked Petra if I was darker, and she said ¨I don´t know that you´re tan….but well, I see a Tan Caro.¨ That´s good enough for me.

Since that day I have been on the beach twice more. My body is a variety of colors ranging from the base white to dark white to the pinks (light pink, dark pink, bright pink) and the …dare I say it…browns (light brown, slightly darker brown, etc).

I´m definitely a tan Caro, but I might actually be tan for real!! I´m gonna keep this up when I get back!

It didn´t take long.

I just wanted to sit somewhere and maybe have a drink while watching the people go by. However, I have a fear of going to a restaurant, particularly one in a foreign country, and sitting down at a table by myself. Not to mention that here you seat yourself at most restaurants, but not all of them. So I was definitely nervous about it, but decided I just had to conquer the insecurity and go out and do it.

I finally found an ok, non-intimidating looking restaurant and had a seat. I ordered a glass of wine and started watching the people. I realized I hadn´t picked the best of locations, but it would do. And oh were there lots of people to see!

Despite the fact that it was after midnight, people were still arriving into our little beach town for the evening. Some of them were dressed up to go to one of the discotecas. Some were families with children who looked like they might have been coming from the amusement park (Yes, our town has it´s own mini 6-flags). Then there were the people who I couldn´t determine where they might be headed.

Take for example the woman walking down the street in purple Hammer-pants and tall wedge platforms. Where might she be headed? A discoteca maybe? But in that? Then there were the couples where the man was wearing capri-length pants and sandals, looking like he might be headed to the beach, but with a woman draped on his arm whose ass was hanging out of her super tight dress. Surely they weren´t going to a club? Who knows.

My personal favorite was the cowboy. He was your authentic mid-western cowboy, except that he was speaking Catalon. Wrangler-esque jeans, boots, a very frilly hat, and yep…a giant belt buckle. He had a woman with him who was wearing a denim skirt and some other kind of frilly hat. I couldn´t see her as well because of the tree and the fact that she was on the other side of him, but I imagine her getup was as fancy as his. AWESOME.

I ordered a crepe while I was there but made the mistake of deviating from my typical routine of chocolate. Instead, I ordered dulce de leche. This crepe was not good. It was just crepe filled with what seemed like old caramel. It wasn´t gooey, it was kinda sick looking. I felt bad not eating it because the waiter seemed so excited, so I asked to take it to go. We then had a very nice conversation in Spanish. I loved it!

Talk about a happy 4th of July. I may not have gotten to see any fireworks, but I did get to watch some awesome people while enjoying a nice glass of wine and practicing my Spanish skills.

Two very different places, yet both very noteworthy. Our first day of sightseeing, Petra and I tried to go into the cathedral. However, I didn’t bring anything to cover up my shoulders, so I wasn’t allowed in. Again, I’m one of you. I used to go to church in tank tops at home. Can’t I just get some kind of a card that says “She’s Catholic. Allow her inside” that I can use whenever? Anyway, that’s a whole different issue. I guess they’re more conservative in Spain!

under construction....boo!

We finally got to go in another day, and it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. I mean there was cool stuff, but I didn’t see how it was significantly different to 1. be a cathedral vs. just a really big church or 2. require super conservative clothing in 100 degree weather.

fake candles...you know, so you don't burn down the stone building lol

I do love some stained glass though

organ mounted high up on the wall

geese in the back

We did get to witness a woman with some sort of mental retardation get into a big fight with her jackass husband. I call him a jackass because it really seemed like he was just being a jerk for no reason. That was fun.

On our way back to the bus station that day, Petra and I stopped at La Sagrada Familia, which is another building built by Gaudi. It’s incredible, even stranger than the Casa Batilo.

it's not finished. over 100 years in the making!

yep, that's a christmas tree on the top

closeup of the front

I wish it had still been open when we got there, but I guess I’ll just have to come back. Maybe the next time I’m in Spain it will finally be done? LOL fat chance since it’s taken 120 years so far! Such a cool place, and as the guidebook said, it clearly looks like it was constructed by a lunatic.

While the history was incredibly fascinating, it started to drag on a bit after a while. Much to our shock and appreciation, we stumbled upon an interactive area…one where you could actually try on armor. Now this is what I’m talking about!!!

some information about what we were putting on

feeling bold (and unafraid of potential lice) i put on the helmet

petra tried on the helmet + the arms

i then ended up putting on the entire outfit. it was HEAVY!

petra showing off her robotic abilities

we weren't wearing mail underneath so this easily could have happened to us in battle LOL

Definitely the best museum EVER I must say. I learned a ton about Catalonia and their struggle to gain independence, and had a ton of fun doing it. If only all museums were this cool