MITZI & PERI: Made it to Madrid!

       After our day at the Moulin Rouge and Arc de Triomphe we went to the light show at the Eiffel tower.  It was cold, but beautiful.  Every hour on the hour, starting at dusk, white lights all over the tower twinkle, which gives the tower the appearance of being covered in glitter.  We had heard that drunks and pickpockets like to hang out there so we decided to only bring the basics (aka locking our purses back at the hostel).  It was cold and rainy and we were both craving something sweet, so on our way back to the metro we shared a hot chocolate crepe.  Yum yum!!  We made sure that our bags were packed so we would be ready to check out in the morning.

    The next morning we finally made it up in time for our hostel’s free breakfast.  We had baugette bread with nutella (a chocolate hazelnut spread like peanut butter, popular everywhere but the states), cereal, and coffee.  We were told of a free walking tour that was pretty good, but the tour guide was sick, so we had to ride the metro to meet up with a different guide.  We met several young people from England, Australia, and Canada.  Our tour guide was from London, he was very informative and entertaining.  The tour lasted around 4 hours.  We didn’t find it that hard to walk for that long, but our legs will definitely be in shape by the time we get back.  We’re feeling it a little bit today.  The tour was very interesting because it gave us a chance to understand the history behind the famous monuments.  Everyone knew we were American when we squealed at the reference of a Sex & the City filming location we had visited.  After the walking tour we were given a chance to sample authentic French meat and cheese plates at a cafe with a view of the Eiffel tower. 

 
  We made our way back to the hostel to rest as much as we could before going to the airport.  Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:50 the following morning, and we figured it would be cheaper to not pay for another night in the hostel and an expensive early morning taxi ride to the airport, so we decided to spend the night in the airport.  We took a taxi to Charles de Gaulle airport around 7 at night and spent some time finding a good and safe place to spend the night.  Neither of us slept at all, it was difficult to be comfortable enough to close our eyes.  There were homeless and other stranded travelers around, including this fidgety, cigarette feigning, lady who kept sitting next to Mitzi for no apparent reason and pacing around us.  This made us feel slightly uneasy to say the least.  European jumper planes are very tricky.  They only allow 20kilo (44lbs) max, it doesn’t matter how many bags you have.  44lbs ALL TOGEHER. period.  Peri didn’t pack lightly and experienced frustration and a lightening of her pocketbook to get her luggage on the plane.  Luckily we were there early enough to ask for help and figure everything out.  Mitzi was able to stuff her carryon super super full and did not have to pay a fee. 
    After hour flight we were exhausted but still had to make the trip to our hostel.  Another round on the metro.  Needless to say we were not excited.  We found the metro in the airport with no problems, but had some difficulties transferring to the train.  We eventually found our way and made it safely to our hostel.  This hostel is clean and comfortable, much smaller than the one in Paris.  It definitely has a “homey” feel, as right now we are watching Blades of Glory with Will Ferrel with 5 other travelers (in english!! woot woot!).  The hostel is situated right in the heart of a square.  After a nap and a shower we went out to find food and didn’t have to walk far.  Tonight in the square they are presenting the world cup that was won by Spain.  So the square is full with people in jerseys who are excited to see the cup.  When we were in Paris we had no problem finding people who spoke English.  However, so far we have found it different here.  We are both very glad to have some Spanish background because we have talked to a couple of people who only spoke very broken english, or none at all.
    Tomorrow we will part ways.  Mitzi is meeting up with ISA at the designated hotel and starts orientation.  Peri will spend a few days here on her own and then do the same.  We will continue to post our individual experiences and we will be meeting up together occasionally for different excursions (Morocco!!!).

PERI & MITZI- Last Days in Dublin and Paris!

            Our second day in Dublin was better for us, we were much better tourists!  We found our way around the city and bus routes like we were natives J.  After sleeping in, we got our jet-lagged behinds out of the hotel and to the Dublinia exhibit, a historical museum about Dublin’s past.  It was interesting to see how far back their history goes compared to America’s.  After the museum, we found a bistro across from the Christchurch Cathedral where the exhibit is held.  We had a good time soaking in the scenery and getting teased by our waiter.  He suggested that we go to Temple Bar, a pedestrian area full of pubs, restaurants, shops, entertainers, and more.  A pub, Gogarty's, playing loud live Irish music attracted our attention first.  It was tough to find a seat, but eventually we sat down next to an older couple (picture below).  We found out that they are from Arizona and were taking a long vacation in Europe.  We ended up talking to them for hours, they even scared off a few drunk men trying to hit on us.  It felt good to be comfortable to talk to other tourists and hear their experiences and suggestions about Dublin.  After Gogarty's, we went to The Temple Bar/Pub.  It is a very popular place for both locals and tourists to hang out.  We were not there long, as we were ready to turn in for the night.  The next day, we knew that we had to be up very early the following morning, so we decided to take it easy.  After sleeping in (again) we had a quick lunch in the pub across the street (where we were the only women AND the only people under 45), walked through a small part of  Phoenix Park (one of the largest parks in the world, and home to the Irish president).  We had so much fun the night before that we went back to Temple Bar.  We had another good night listening to Irish music and meeting people from all walks of life.  We turned in early because we had to be up at 3:30am to meet our taxi to the airport, however, the jet lag was still an issue, so no sleep was actually gotten.

            We arrived at the airport in plenty of time to catch our flight (thank goodness).  There were some mix-ups with how much weight is allowed in our bags, which was very stressful.  The security checks in the airport were no where near as strict as they are in the States, so it went much faster than it does in the typical US airport.  Our experience on this flight was a lot different than any of our flights before: just one example is that we walked straight down to the tarmac where our plane, and several others, were getting fueled and serviced, and we walked up a large, rickety ladder to board the plane.  The plane ride was uneventful (except a little shaky).  We found the bus to take us into the heart of Paris with no troubles.  The bus ride was about an hour long, then we had to haul our stuff all over to get to the metro: up stairways, down stairways, over sidewalks, all while wearing our heavy coats and fighting crowds of people.  It was brutal to say the least… cardio!  We made it to the hostel without getting lost though, that’s all that matters!

            Since we did not get any sleep the night before, we were very tired but unable to check in to our room yet.  We dropped our stuff off in a luggage room at the hostel and decided to jump right into our sightseeing.  We went straight to the Eiffel Tower (naturally).  A short metro ride later, we walked up a flight of stairs and around a corner… and there it was… WOW!  It was breathtaking.  Literally.  The second we saw it, we both began to tear up; it was that beautiful.  We sat on a bench in awe of it, and began to get even more emotional.  Luckily a young Spanish girl made us snap out of it when she ate her sandwich an inch from Peri’s face.  Clearly the Spanish have no shame about staring, or sense of a personal bubble or as Mitzi says, a purple circle.  We spent a couple of hours walking around the Tower, getting hassled by the street merchants selling plastic Eiffel Towers and miscellaneous other touristy junk, (“I’m not going to buy any of your crap if you cat-call me!”-Mitzi).  It was a great time people watching in the shadow of the Tower—until it started to rain.  We made our way back to the hostel and called it a night.

            The next day (yesterday) we went to the Louvre Museum.  It was enormous!  We could have spent a whole week there and not seen everything, but we settled on 3 hours.  We saw the Mona Lisa (it was very small), and various other famous works of art.  In the basement of the Louvre there is randomly a mini mall full of expensive shops.  We found free wifi at the Apple Store and spent some time talking to our loved ones.  We went to lunch across from the museum and had delicious French brunch: Mitzi had a buckwheat crepe with ham and cheese in it, and Peri had a ham and cheese quiche.  We sipped our wine and people watched for over an hour.  As we made our way to Notre Dame we had to stop for gelato… it was so yummy!  Notre Dame was beautiful; we did not go in because the line was very long.  We window-shopped on our way back to the hostel.  The hostel is having all kinds of wifi problems so we have not been able to talk to our loved ones as much as we would like, hopefully we have better luck in Madrid. 

            Today we went to the Moulin Rouge (pretty disappointing), saw the Arc de Triomphe (pretty, but not breath taking), and had a lovely lunch on the third floor of a bistro.  We have one more day here in Paris, which we will spend taking a walking tour of the various sites, until we take off for Madrid.  We have loved soaking in these two different cultures, but we are ready to be in Spain and have a routine and a home.  Ciao for now!

***Random things about Paris:***

-Men wear capris all the time…. It’s the real deal! J

-Loud American women (like the one behind us right now) are what give Americans a bad rep.

-The fashion here is unbelievable!!!  We are constantly pointing people out; we totally belong here.  If people wore half the things that they wear here in Idaho, they would be laughed at for sure.

-There are a lot of gypsies and beggars around.

-A lot of people run here, but we are fairly sure that gyms do not exist.

Peri: Dublin! :)

Mitzi and I arrived in Dublin yesterday around 11:30 local time.  The flight was only about 7 hours, and it went by pretty quickly.  We had a slight mix up with our hotel and ended up having to take a taxi to the correct one, which was frustrating after an already long day, but it worked out ok.  When we got off the plane, I did not feel jet lagged at all, but as soon as we got to the hotel we set our alarms for an hour and a half for our nap, and woke up three and a half hours later!  We were pretty beat when we woke up but decided we should go out for dinner before it got too late.  The desk clerk at the hotel gave us a map and pointed us in the right direction for good restaurants.  Unfortunately, we did not go in that right direction… We walked around the neighborhoods near our hotel for a while, but did not find any restaurants because we were obviously in a residential section.  We decided to take a bus into the city center so we took a guess on which bus to take, and it ended up being a good decision!  We ended up in the city center by the river: a very picturesque area where the City Hall, various other official buildings, restaurants, a hostel, etc. are located.  At this point, we were sick of walking around and decided to stop to eat at the next place we saw.  Fortunately the next place we saw, The Brazen Head, is on the list of most popular things to do in Dublin!  It is the oldest pub in Ireland, established in 1198!  That is so hard to comprehend!  Mitzi and I had a great time sitting on the cobblestone patio with the locals.  We enjoyed our dinner and soaking up the atmosphere.

       After dinner, we asked the bar tender for directions and found out that we were not too far from our hotel, but still too far to walk.  After wandering around a bit, we hopped on a bus that appeared to go in the right direction… it did not.  After a bit we knew we should scrap the bus and just take a taxi (it was after dark by now).  We made it back to the hotel in the taxi and got a good night’s sleep.  Today we plan to stick to pre-planned (and hopefully correct) routes, and become more familiar with the area.  We are planning on going to Dublinia, an exhibit about the fascinating history of Dublin, located in an old cathedral, and then to Temple Bar, a popular area for shopping, restaurants, pubs, and nightclubs. 

river running through Dublin's city center

temple bar

in phoenix park

**Random things about Dublin:**

-All of the buildings are very old and quaint; I love them!  There are many, many condos and apartment buildings.  In one long building of condos, each one can look completely different.  Many people paint their front door bright colors, its so cute!

-No shower curtains.  Just a small piece of glass attached to the edge of the bath tub in front of the shower head. Not conducive to sharing the bathroom…

-You have to use your room key in the hotel to operate the elevator, and you must leave your key in a card reader on the wall in order to operate the lights in your room.

-Tiny (but comfortable) beds.

-I have not seen a single redheaded person.

-They drive like maniacs!  The lines that separate all the lanes are the same, no matter what they are dividing.  Some single lanes are shared by traffic going both directions.  Their cars, no matter what make, model, or year, look and sound like they are in terrible shape.

And last but not least….

-I do really like it here (except for feeling lost all the time).  It is a very quaint, unique place that has something romantic about it.  You know that everything has so much history and therefore so much more intrigue to it.

MITZI: From Ireland with Love/Pre-departure

Hola!  Mitzi here.  I wasn’t able to post before I left the United States, but here I am now:  first day abroad.  What we have already experienced in our first day has made the whole process of getting here definitely worth it.  Like Peri said, we found it was cheaper to fly into Ireland.  Dang, what a horrible detour...  So we decided to make a holiday of it and spend a couple of nights in Dublin and another couple in Paris.  So far, Ireland has captivated me.  We’ve had a great time.  And it’s a good place for us to be together before we head our separate ways in Spain.  We are sort of getting our feet wet with European culture together.  AKA getting lost and figuring out things on our own!!! Being independent!
I still cannot believe our adventure is already beginning.  It seems like just yesterday when Peri and I decided to study in Spain.  We were roommates at Lewis-Clark State (LC) at the time and both wanted to pursue our education in Spanish.  Spain seemed to be the most logical option after looking at all of what International Studies Abroad (ISA) had to offer us.  We then started talking to the study abroad coordinator at LC and got a head start on the piles of paperwork.  Looking back on it, the whole process has definitely been worth it. 
Like Peri I am also choosing to live in a home-stay while going to school at Pablo de Olavide University in Sevilla, Spain.  I will be rooming with a girl from California and we will be hosted by a mother and her son.  It will be interesting to find out little quirks about different families and see the difference in everyday living.  I am very excited to experience living in a different culture and meeting tons of new people. 
I am challenging myself to make sure I post often.  Please comment on the blog and/or find us both on facebook!  There will be much more pictures and experiences to come.
Ciao!

PERI: Getting ready to GO!!!

            Hola!  My name is Peri, I am a junior Psychology major here at Lewis-Clark State College.  I am spending this Fall 2010 semester in Barcelona, Spain at Pompeu Fabra University.  Mitzi is my roommate, we are so excited to be spending this time abroad together!  (Well kind of together, we will be about 600 miles apart at our respective universities).  We started the application process in December, after we picked the university and program that would work best for us.  I chose the Barcelona program because I wanted to experience the big city: Barcelona is one of the most modern and progressive cities in Spain.  Pompeu Fabra University (or UPF) is a small university, not much bigger than LC, which is perfect for me because I think that personal interaction at the collegiate level is very important.  I chose to live in a home-stay while abroad.  I know that the family that I will live with is headed by Señora Josefa Muñoz, a potter, her son and her grandson.  Her pottery shop is on the main floor of the flat, along with the kitchen, and the bedrooms are located on the second floor.

            I am 2 days from my departure date.  It was a long process to get to this point, mountains of paperwork completed: scholarships, applications, personal information, preferences, the list goes on…  At the end of the road though, now that its all done, it wasn’t that bad.  Staying on top of which paper goes to who and when was the most difficult part but file folders and a calendar kept it manageable.  Since we began, we’ve had many questions come and go: how will we communicate back home? how will we find our way around Europe? how much spending money will we need? etc., etc.  With help from contacts at LCSC and ISA a little patience, all (or at least most) of our questions have been answered.

Mitzi and I are required to be in Madrid, Spain on a specified date for our program orientation, but we want to take advantage of our time abroad and see as many countries as possible.  We found it much cheaper (about one-third the price of flying to Madrid) to fly into Dublin, Ireland, so we are flying from the US to Dublin about ten days before our orientation starts.  After a couple of days in Dublin we will take a jumper plane to Paris, then another on to Madrid.  I am a little nervous because Mitzi’s program starts 3 days before mine, so I am going to be on my own for about 2 and a half days (ah!!!).  Luckily, after I received the ‘student’ list from ISA, I sent out an email asking if others will be in Madrid early, and a few have responded that they will. 

So now, less than 48 hours before my departure, my bags are packed (just about), and I am as mentally prepared as I am ever going to be.  I am very excited for this adventure, but am sad about leaving my parents, friends, and fiancé as well.  I will do my best to keep this blog up to speed, I hope you find it helpful and fun!  Buen viaje!