El Fin

For our last night in Sevilla Sara and I went to Aladin's for a Kebab. So GOOD! Then we took one last walk down to the Cathedral. As we walked down the tiny streets of el Centro, I remembered just how unfamiliar all of this was on our very first day. I thought I would never be able to navigate my way around this foreign city. There I was, 4 months later, after meandering through those same streets countless times. We stared at the Giralda by moonlight for a good ten minutes before we continued our last walk through Sevilla.

The next morning I got all of my stuff together to walk the MILE to the bus stop with two huge suitcases, a backpack, and a duffel. It was a VERY long walk. I looked through the house one last time and then closed the door on an amazing semester. It was unreal that I was walking away from this apartment for the last time of my life. I got on the bus to find out that the Sevilla airport was CLOSED!! I couldn't believe it. Could this really be happening??? I had just told Brandon a week before that nothing would keep me from getting home on the 11th and now this? My initial instinct was to get off right there and catch the next train to Madrid. Since no one was getting off, and Sarah wanted to talk to the airline we took the bus there. They told us there was nothing they could do. Sevilla and one other airport were the only ones closed. We immediately grabbed a cab to the train station and prayed that we could get to Madrid. We still had our Eurail passes so it only cost 10 euros to get the train there. After another costly taxi ride we were there at the Madrid airport. With little help from any staff, we finally found where we needed to be only to find that they had closed the check baggage area. The nice lady at the counter told us that we couldn't get on that flight even though it still hadn't departed. She found the next flight out to New York and advised us to get the heck out of Spain because the ash cloud could do anything. We snatched those tickets and made our way to the terminal. The worst part of all was that we had to watch OUR plane to Dallas board and roll away down the runway. :( :( talk about frustrating!!!

After another two hour delay, they finally called for the boarding of the plane to Nueva York! I was so excited! We were going to get out of Europe, finally. I unknowingly let out a loud WOOOO HOOOOO and the guy in front of me turned around with the most puzzled look. I caught his eye and responded..."OH, sorry". Why did apologize? I have no idea. I didn't care. No one could understand how badly Sarah and I wanted to get home after so many mishaps.

We got to JFK airport and had to get another cab to La Guardia. We got there at about 11pm and had to stay awake all night for our 6am flight to DFW. We were back in the state of crazy delirium, but more than that, we were really just relieved to be back in the states. When that plane finally took off I could relax at last. I was so excited to see my mom at the airport and be welcomed back to TEXAS!

In that 32 hour trek home we took almost all of the forms of transportation; bus, 3 taxis, train, and plane. We only lacked boat. But, I was HOME, none of it mattered.

Studying abroad in Seville, Spain has been a dream of mine since high school. It really was a once in a lifetime experience that can never be repeated. I could never express how much I appreciate my dad and mom for supporting me, financially :) and otherwise, because nothing I could say would be be enough. Thanks, Momma and Daddy, you're the best parents a girl could ask for. :)

Well that sums up my semester abroad. Thanks for reading : D

El Fin

Chaos

We arrived in Geneva, Switzerland Thursday night after all the information booths had closed. We had NO idea where we could find a hostel and it was already dark. We just started walking down the streets of Geneva praying we would find something quickly. We walked for at least 20 minutes before we saw a little hostel sign. Hopeful, we went up to ask it they had room but were quickly rejected. The owner pointed us in the direction of another hostel and we headed there. Luckily this hostel had room even though it was a little sketch. We hadn't eaten anything for probably 10 hours so our next mission was food. We saw a McDonalds on the way to the hostel so we went in that direction. We had a good hamburger and McFlurry but we were floored by the prices. 2.50 Swiss Franc for a dollar burger! Ridiculous. We quickly realized how expensive everything was there in Switzerland. On the way back to the hostel we were walking by a clothing store and Sarah says..."even the manikin looks like he trying to get my money"

The next day we woke early to explore Geneva and then hopped on a train to Basel, Switzerland. We decided that we wanted to start the journey back to Sevilla the next day so we wanted to get to Paris where the only night train was going out that day. We also didn't want to pay for another night in a hostel so we decided to get a night train to Amsterdam. (Yes the delirium was still there...we were even beat box singing in the Basel station) There's just something about night trains...they're crazy uncomfortable but you feel like you are getting somewhere when you wake up in a different city and they are a lot cheaper than hostels.

This is where the complete insanity began. We got to Amsterdam and planned to explore the city a bit before going on to Paris. I thought it would be best to get our tickets for the next train before we explored so we found the place to do that. The lady was unhelpful and told us that we were completely out of luck for getting to Paris that day. We decided to get the next train to Brussels to try our luck there. A super nice worker there found us the cheapest way to get to Paris with ONLY 3 different train changes. We spent the entire day changing trains but eventually made it to Paris only to for more disappointment. After talking to a million people we were informed that all the trains were full for Eurail pass holders because of their "limit". We finally explained to them that we HAD to be back in Spain the next day and they explained to us that it would come at a cost. We had to pay full fare for the night train from Paris to the very top of Spain and then spent another day waiting for trains to get back to Madrid. At about 11pm we arrived in Madrid with no hostel plans once again. We found a McDonalds with WiFi and looked up the closest hostels. This is where we definitely knew that God was right there with us. We were both stressed and tired and didn't exactly want to spend the night on the streets of Madrid. (not the safest streets at night) I found a good prospect for a hostel and we started walking that way. We got there and I pushed the button praying they would have room. I asked the little old man in Spanish and he said that they had only 4 beds left for the night. Perfection. We weren't going to get murdered in Spain that night. We slept for a total of 5 hours before we got up to catch the first train back to Sevilla.

This last part of our European adventures was a bit stressful, and there might have been a few tears shed, but we had fun through it all. It was one of the best experiences ever because I was able to see SO much of Europe. I wouldn't change the experience for the world.

Getting home chaos soon to come :)

We laughed until we cried...literally

Germany and part of Switzerland

After an AMAZING time in Salzburg (my favorite city after Sevilla) we headed to Germany. We arrived in Munich in the morning to find it raining. :( We walked around the cute little city for a while then went to a little cafe for some coffee. Now, we are spoiled Spanish folk so we definitely didn't get what we were expecting. We did get "coffee" but it tasted funny and cost 5 euros. Oh well. We adventured around some more before we decided the rain was telling us to hop on the next train. The highlight of this day was BY FAR the curry wurst we had at the train station. INCREDIBLE does not even describe it. Those German peeps know how to eat.

Another train, another city. We arrived in Zurich just to catch the train to Geneva where we planned to stay the night. This is where the train adventures began. Let's just say that Sarah and I had hit a point of delirium from lack of sleep and too many trains. Not a bad delirium but one that makes you act kind of crazy. We were "fighting" over my fear of Sudoku, discussing the German use of K, dictating German cartoons, and describing cows in helicopters (because happy cows come from Switzerland). We've been living in an environment where 90% of the population doesn't understand us when we speak English and we've become accustomed to this. All this time that we are going off on these little tangents there is a lady in front of us who we assume doesn't understand a word we are saying. About an hour into the trip the conductor of the train comes on the loud speaker and says something in German. Of course we have no idea what he said. This little lady politely interrupts and asks us in English where we are going. We reply Geneva and she tells us that this train is not going to continue on. We follow her around like little lost puppies as she helps us find a connecting train. When we try to get off too early she states "no, you stay". Without the help of that extremely nice lady we might still be sitting in that train wondering what the crack was going on. On the last train to Geneva that night we finally realized that the lady had understood us the whole time!! We started to remember all the ridiculous things we had said and started laughing hysterically. We laughed until we cried.

more to come :)

I'm back!

We made it home safely and I'm so glad to be back. I still have a ton to blog about and will soon! Promise :)

Austria

Tuesday morning I said goodbye to Katy and headed out to catch the train to Florence. The plan was that Sarah and I were going to meet there before we headed out. I got to Florence and went to the meeting point of McDonalds. Five minutes later Sarah showed up. I have to admit that I was surprised. Not that she wouldn’t show or anything, but just the fact that it’s possible to meet so easily in another country.

“Hey let’s meet in Florence, Italy” – how crazy does that sound?

We got our night train tickets to Vienna, Austria for only 7 Euros. (we found out why so cheap later)

Anyway, Sarah’s roommate from Tech is studying in Florence so she let us stay in her apartment until the train left that night. The view from her cute apartment was SO Italy. She made us Eggplant Parmesan! Incredible! It was nice to just chill in a comfortable environment for a while. After dinner we went to get one last gelato L. (don’t count the number that I had while in Italy) :P

We boarded the night train and saw the tiny little rooms with six chairs and zero leg room….that’s what you get for a Eurail pass and 7 euros. It worked though. The air conditioner wasn’t working so to take our minds off frying to death we joked about my obsession with little kids clothes and Sarah’s obsession with dogs. Right then Sarah looks under my chair and says “Is that a dog under there or am I going crazy??” I didn’t believe her at all but sure enough there was a DOG under my chair on a European train Hilarious!!…they didn’t check his ticket though. (Now every time we get on trains we check under each other’s chairs for dogs) J

At about five in the morning the Austrian police, who were quite intimidating men, boarded the train to check passports. Of course Sarah and I didn’t have any problems. The next car down, however, did give us some entertainment. An Italian man was arguing that he didn’t need a passport to get to Austria. The policeman replied, (insert Arnold Schwrzenneger accent here) “Don’t tell me what is the law in Austria” Sarah and I looked at each other barley able to contain ourselves. Yes, I realize this may not seem that funny but at 5 in the morning everything is hilarious.

We woke up in AUSTRIA and arrived at Vienna at 8:30am. We found a map and started heading to the area that looked most touristy. Not at all sure where we were, we stopped at a bus stop to look at the map.

Sarah – “Well it looks like we take wienersnitchel down to …..” The butchering of the German street names made us realize that we were, in fact, in yet another place where we speak none of the language. Vienna was okay but after only a few hours we decided that it was time to head to Salzburg, Austria. Good choice it was!

more to come later on Salzburg and such!

Vatican City

Monday, May 3^rd, we went to Vatican City! We had reserved a tour ahead of time which proved to be a great idea. The Vatican museum had been closed the previous two days so the normal 20,000 guests the Vatican sees was estimated to be around 50,000 that day. It was packed. The Vatican museum was okay and our guide was boring, but we saw the Sistine Chapel!!! It was gorgeous. I can see how this one became so famous. After that, we went into the largest Cathedral in the WORLD. St. Peter’s Basilica was incredible. I was definitely awestruck.

After the Vatican tour we went on the quest for a cute Italian meal and we found it. We walked through the winding streets and came upon a little restaurant with outside seating. Perfect! Everywhere we looked was the essence of Italy. (Little streets with houses butted up against each other, street performers, artists, and just the feeling of Italy) We spent the perfect last night in Italy and even saw the Trevi fountain all lit up at night. I could not have asked for a better Italy experience. Good food, good wine, good conversation all shared with a great friend! J

Florence and Pisa

Sunday morning we hopped a train to Florence….because we could. It was raining all day, which was a bummer, but we finally saw REAL Italy. We saw the gorgeous cathedral of Florence and meandered through the tiny streets. We came along a cute Italian restaurant and stopped for a Calzoni. Another important sight in Florence was the old bridge. This bridge is the last in Europe to have stores and houses on the bridge itself. Around that area I bought some treble clef earrings from a man making them on the streets. It started pouring as we went to the “look out” spot. It was an incredible view but would have been better without all the rain. There is a huge leather market in Florence selling all kinds of items made of Italian leather. This was fun to walk around and attempt to barter down prices.

We jumped on the next train to Pisa…because we could. J We literally had about 2 hours to find the leaning tower, snap some pictures, and get back to the train station. We did JUST that…with a gelato stop of course. We saw the LEANING TOWER OF PISA and it was LEANING! We didn’t get the “perfect” tower pic and it was still raining but who really cares? I never thought I would be seeing so many world famous monuments in my life.

We got back to Rome late, about midnight. The buses were already off for the night so we started to walk back to the hostel. ROME AT NIGHT IS SKETCH…enough said. I’m sure we would have been fine, but after a while of walking through the scary streets Katy hailed the first cab we saw. We took a 1 mile 14 EURO cab ride. The driver totally ripped us off but at least we were safe.

Rome adventures

The first day in Rome Katy and I got up early and headed out to see all of the typical sights. The coliseum was first on the list and started out the day in a great way. Usually it costs 12 Euros to get in but that day was a holiday so we got in for 1 Euro. Score. It was pretty awesome. So much time and stories are caught within those walls of the Coliseum. After about a million coliseum pictures we headed to the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. Of course we threw a coin in the fountain for good luck (my house madre explained the proper way to toss the coin before I left). We took a quick gelato break by the fountain and then went on our way to the Spanish Steps. The Spanish steps were so beautiful with all their flowers. We sat there for a while before wandering through the streets some more. All of these famous things are amazing but why are they so famous? We walked around a bit more and checked out the Roman ruins before heading back to the hostel. We picked a slice of ITALIAN pizza and some wine for dinner on the patio at the hostel. Later that night the host of the hostel brought out a HUGE jug of red wine and offered it to Katy, another guest from Canada, and myself. It was a relaxing evening after a lot of walking. We came to Rome with no agenda and no expectations. We just went when we wanted and had tons of fun doing so.

Milan

Let's see, where to begin?

I was incredibly nervous to start out this journey but the first day of traveling went very smoothly. I hopped on the train to Madrid where I caught one to Barcelona. I had a little lay over there and went walking around for a while. I got on the night train...didn't sleep much...but woke up in Italy!!! Early in the morning police came in to check passports and luggage. I guess I seemed harmless enough because they scanned over me pretty quickly.

I arrived in Milan and started my solo Italy adventure! After reading up on Milan, in my handy dandy Italy book (thanks to Suchira :] ), I navigated my way to the metro to head to the center of town. Milan is known for it's massive cathedral and for being the fashion center. When I came out of the Metro I was greeted by the site of the incredible cathedral know as the Duomo. I went in and looked around and took tons of pictures of the outside. It was pretty beautiful. After that, I just walked around and ran into a cute little Gelataria. I had my first chocolate Gelato and it was AMAZING!!! I made my way back to the train station, ice cream in hand, and taught myself how to use the self service train ticket machines. For ten Euros and my Eurail pass I was off to Rome! I got here with no problem and followed my directions to the Hostel. The area of the hostel was a bit sketch so I was glad that I came in before dark. The hostel, itself, was cute with extremely friendly hosts. Wine was provided so I approve of this hostel :). I waited for Katy to get here and we started our Rome adventures the next day.

Sarah and I are headed to Austria tomorrow but more to come later!