VIVA LA VIDA...a Carnaval!

I know, I just blogged.  But, I thought that Carnaval deserved its own for two reason: 1) COME ON, it's Carnaval; and 2) that last one was a tad bit long.


So, for those of you that don't know, Carnaval is a festival that is celebrated all over the world! (The biggest is in Brazil: Rio de Janeiro.) It typically occurs the weekend before Ash Wednesday... Lent.  And, just like Mardi Gras in the States, Tuesday is the biggest, grandest, and most festive of the days.  So what day did I go, you ask? Tuesday, of course!


Here is my night:


First, we waited to the board the buses.  By we, I mean the 800ish people in Plaza Catalunya. So, after about 30 minutes of waiting, we got on the bus.  A man (from Australia, go figure), who was in charge, told us some things to expect and be careful of.  Pickpockets. Drunk people. Prostitutes.  Stupid people.


After 45 minutes, we arrived in Sitges.  It is a little beach town south of Barcelona.  Before departing on our own, the director told us... "At 3a, the buses will be here.  If you are fortunate enough to be here, you will have a ride back to Barcelona. HOWEVER, if you are not... *pause for dramatic effect* you are no longer our responsibility, and good luck finding a ride home."  Then we were free...


Trust me, finding where you needed to go was not hard.  Simply, follow the confetti.  It was kind of like the Yellow Brick Road of Carnaval. 


After about 15 minutes of walking, we found the road that runs parallel with the beach, which is the street that parade was located.

.EL DESFILE.

How to describe the parade.  No sé. Well, it pretty much ranged... from... well, everything.  I saw the ninga turtles.  To people dressed up as angels and devils.  To people dressed up as burgers, fries, and workers from 50s burger joint. Lady Gaga wannabes.  Flamenco dressers.  Cross dressers. There were incredible bands parading.  A few drumlines that would make you dance even if you tried to resist!  You name it. It was in this parade.

.LA PLAYA.

Well, the beach was a pretty typical beach.  There was an incredibly beautiful church located on the oceanfront: L'església de Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla.  However, after the parade, a majority of the people went there to relax and sit by the ocean.  And, well, some other things... OH, I did witness someone using the restroom on the beach-É-take it for you want.  

.DESPUÉS.

After staying on the beach for a bit, we decided to wander the streets.  Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people bombarded the roads.  If you weren't aggressive, you weren't going to stand a chance in moving.  Literally.  You would stand in the same spot surrounded by people.  My friends and I grabbed hands, making a chain of about 12 people, and pushed. Pushed hard! 15 minutes later, we made it. One block down. BUT, we had lost about 6 people.  Every single place was packed past the maximum limit. Though, I'm not sure if Spain has limits? (The fire marshal would not be happy.)  Bars. Clubs. Restaurants. Fast food places.  There was not a single place to stand, walk, or sit.  Finally, my friends and I just decided to walk around the city for the remainder of our time. 

Well, it was 2:35a... time to find our way back to the bus.  Not easy.  At all.  The roads are just like here in Barcelona.  They go up, down, left, right, diagonal-that-way, diagonal-this-way.  But, hey, we found it. With about 10 minutes to spare.  And on the way to the bus, I got really hungry. And, to my luck, I found this little stand that was normally a restaurant, but not for Carnaval! They pushed up this table and blocked the entrance... You ordered from the table and out came your food... to go, haha!  I ordered a crêpe: ham and cheese.  Heaven in my mouth. 

Carnaval has left me... I don't know the words.  I feel, as if, I have, truly, seen everything.  There is not much, I think, that will surprise me.  Carnaval was full of extremely friendly people.  Everyone was willing to help. Share. Push through the crowd with you.  It was a big celebration in which everyone was there to have fun! And, I did.  This was a once in lifetime experience!  And, I am so glad I could enjoy it!  Would I do it again? I'm not sure. Maybe. Probably. Ok, I would :)

"Oh London, thou art the flower of all cities..."

So, it has been far too long since I have last blogged.  And, friends and family, both, told me I needed to. I gave in to the pressure.

It has been a month! since I last talked with you all... what has happened.  For one, I have been exploring Barcelona more and more each day.  Discovering the tapas bars.  The best café con leche. The best pastry shops.  The barrios.  I am trying to absorb as much as I can before departing (which, in fact, my time here is limited now!).  Since our last talk, I took a day-trip to Girona and Figueres.  Girona is a medieval city, much like Toledo.  It was extremely beautiful, and rich in culture and art!  Figueres--well, I didn't really go to the town only a museum: Teatro-Museo Dalí.  Dalí. Dalí. Dalí.  I have no words to describe/express his artwork... different, bizarre, abstract, modern: you love it, or you hate it.  I know it doesn't seem like much, but, for me, discovering the city and the culture I have submerged myself in is the most important thing to me.  HOWEVER, this blog will be dedicated to my first, personal, excursion!

.London.

English, again.

Ability to communicate effectively and clearly.

Where to begin.  How about the week before... Well, I was sick.  Really sick.  I had to go to the doctor and everything.  Somehow, I had contracted a very nasty stomach virus; I didn't eat food for about three days.  So, London almost didn't happen, but I sucked it up.  My dear friend, Leah, and I boarded our plane and headed off!  When we landed... it was snowing!!!  For those that me, you know how excited this made me!  I could have happily turned the plane around and went back (just kidding).  

Anyway, we got off, got our luggage, bought a bus ticket that would take us into London and bring us back once it was time to leave.  The sad thing is we hesitated and, together, tried to determine how we were going to ask for the tickets... then, it dawned on us.  We are in London, they speak English.  So, the bus ride was about an 1.5 hours to our bus stop.  We finally made it our hostel after walking past it... twice.  I got in my room, crawled to the top of TRIPLE bunk, and went straight to sleep.  The first night there, I knew that London was going to full of helpful and amazing people.  How did I know that, you ask?  Because of the streets!  The streets saved my life numerous times!

They told me which way to look! They knew I was American.  AND, they knew they drove on the wrong side :)

We woke up.  And were off to explore this new and foreign destination!  Well, of course, after breakfast at this amazing little shop. I had two poached eggs, wheat toasts, and bacon (just so you know, bacon in London is not bacon, it's ham). Leah's best friend is studying in London, so we met up with her and she showed us around! First off, we went to the wonderful area of Camden.  Camden is very eclectic.  There is (literally) something for everyone, all ages.  There were little convenient stores, clothing stores, restaurants, everything imaginable.  There are museums.  The Camden Market.  Bazaar-esque areas and flea-market areas.    

A road in Camden.

After the Borough of Camden, we just walked around for about an hour.  During that hour, I found a building that, to me, embodied London. 

After walking around the area a little bit more, we boarded the "Tube" (that's their subway/metro/transportation).  When we got off, we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.  However, Leah's friends knew where they were going.  So, we walked through this beautiful park, sat on a bench, and ate our lunch. Afterwards, we walked through the park and came out near this bridge (and to my ignorance I thought it was the Millennium Bridge, because that and the Tower Bridge are the only two I know).  As we crossed the bridge, there it was... the most amazing view.  The London Eye on my left. Parliament and Big Ben in the distance. The "skyline" behind me.  Right after this picture (the next one) my camera died. 

Well, not much else happened on Friday.  We went to a Pizza/Pasta place for dinner... Oh, did I mention, it was Princess Diana's favorite restaurant :)

Because, I was still sick, I went to bed fairly early because Saturday was going to be a LONG day!  AND, another friend of mine, Micah, had finally arrived!

Saturday morning. Early. Really early.  Well, we decided to go to the same little shop for breakfast because it was close and cheap.  Mica and two of her friends (my new friends), Jillian and Amanda, found a free walking tour.  They had me at free.  It could have been anything.  What I heard was: "Blah, blah, blah, free, blah, blah, blah."  In that tour, we saw everything that the average tourist needed and wanted to see; however, we did not get access into places for free.  And, everywhere was ridiculously expensive to enter.  The Westminster Abbey was (?) 14pounds, which is about $25.  To go inside. A church.  Should that not be free?  So, I got to see the outside, which was gorgeous.  And, since I was able to see the outside, you can see it too!

The Westminster Abbey

Also, directly across the street from the Westminster Abbey was yet another iconic feature of London: Big Ben.

To me, this represents London.  Big Ben and one of the famous telephone booths!

Well, after seeing both of these, what is there left! Of course, Buckingham Palace! So, off we walked. (Actually, this was before Big Ben and the Westminster, so just pretend with me.)  

I was not super impressed with this palace because I have seen some incredible palaces and will see some soon (Palacio Real de Madrid and Château de Versailles).  I did learn something about the palace though... It was never intended to be the Royal Palace; it was simply someone's house.  Sadly, I was more impressed with the main entrance to Buckingham Palace. 

This is the main entrance... an entrance.  It amazes that the main entrance into the palace is almost as big as the palace itself.  It was really interesting because this entrance had foot soldiers and soldiers on horses.  Oh, and on the other side, is the famous London Eye.  

 

At the end of the walking tour, our awesome tour guide took us to a pub that has been serving grub since the 1800s.  It was here that I tried "fish and chips."  They were just as good as everyone said they would be.  But, the green stuff on the plate were smashed peas (I think), they were not that good.  

So, I have pretty much done this entire day backwards in my blog... oops.  BEFORE, the walking tour Mica, Jillian, Amanda, and I, oh, and this guy named Paul, went to Harrod's.  Paul was one of the people staying in our hostel!  He was only 19 and was traveling around alone, so we invited him to join us.  Harrod's was just as glamorous, larger-than-life, and expensive as it appears in the movies!  Harrod's had everything, but where did we go... The food area.  They had a room for it all.  Fruits and vegetables here.  Meats and fish there.  Breads, pastries, and cupcakes there.  BUT, the best room there: chocolate.  The chocolate area gave samples!  So, being myself, I walked around the room a few times just going to different people each time. 

After this super busy day of walking and touring, my night was just beginning.  Saturday night: WICKED!  That night had finally arrived.  Actually, I bought my ticket to this musical before I had purchased my airline tickets, before I reserved my hostel, before anything.  I was determined to go. At 6:40p, I got on the tube (I had learned how to navigate through London already.), rode it for about 30 minutes, got off and was a little disoriented because it was a different exit, walked around the corner, and found the theatre.  At 7:30p, the show started.

At about 10:00p, the curtain closed.  It was worth every bit of my time and money.  It was more than I ever expected: wow!  Afterwards, I went to the stage door.  Waited for about 15 minutes.  Finally, one-by-one they started to exit the building.  By the end of the night, I had all their autographs and had met and talked with the entire company.  Yes, I was that person.

After the show, I turned in for the night.

Sunday was a very, very short day because we had to be at the airport by 2p.  We walked around a little bit more.  To a few more places we had no yet been too.  Leah and I walked into St. Paul's Cathedral.  It was breathtaking.  There were signs posted everywhere not to take photos because there was a service taking place... Naturally, I... well, I took a few.

Second row from top, first candle on the right is the candle I lit.

My last stop.  Finally, my Harry Potter dream came true.  I saw the Millennium Bridge, haha!

After seeing this and the London Bridge (in the distance), Leah and I made our way to the Tube and headed back to the hostel to get our bags.  We were off to the airport.  Barcelona bound... :)

The days I have left are becoming fewer and fewer, which makes me terribly sad; however, there is so much planned and expected in these last few weeks.

This coming weekend: Budapest and Auschwitz!
Next weekend: Rome! (I cannot wait to see some familiar Evangel faces!)
Semana Santa: Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris!

Of course, I will be delving more into the city of Barcelona.  I still haven't quite discovered the "heart" of Barcelona.  But, I still have time.

Cariños,
Jay