Thursday, January 27, 2011
A few visuals
I've been uploading my pictures to a Picasa Web Album in order to save space on my netbook and make sure they're backed up. You can click on the show to be taken to the photo host album if you so choose :D
madrid dias uno/dos
hola! i got in yesterday to Madrid's extremely cool airport and met Chelsea (miraculously - no cell phones or anything... realizing my connectivity dependence...) by the baggage claim. We took a bus into Madrid and I got my first glimpses of the city in the afternoon light. The Spanish do it up right - giant statues outside of every government building, balconies/look-outs on every window, and everyone looks fashionable all the time (my travel clothes and sneakers felt a little ridiculous haha). Chelsea had to go to class so she pointed me in the direction of my hostel and I was off.
Hostal Barrera is gorgeous - a mom and pop owned place with really cute (really tiny, but really cute) rooms. I relaxed there for a while and met with Chelsea after her class. We walked around for a bit and had dinner around 9pm Madrid time in a place that was known in the guidebook as good for its brie con bacon and mojitos... Brie wrapped in bacon on toast might be best thing I've ever tasted (more like scarfed down since I still hadn't eaten since my last post about airplane peanuts). The delicious food combined with how hungry I was after travelling made for an amazing meal.
We then walked around Lavapies and Sol (something centro? apparently all distances are given from here). At every intersection and in front of every bar there are barkers who in a Miami-style ask you to come in for cheap drinks and usually talk about something getting something free blah blah blah. Some are more aggressive than others- in Miami they don't continue to follow you down the street, haha.
Also - It's not too cold here but apparently the Spanish think it's FREEZING. I know this is unseasonably cold for them (14 o centigrade in the sun most days) but it's really not that bad. I think of my friends in the -20 F windchill at Tufts and am grateful for the 45 F temperature here. It is pretty funny to watch people walk around in parkas and scarves in the 40s.. but I do have to say, when it's night or if you're even standing in the shade the temp massively drops... even if you turn down a street cast in shadow you can feel the difference.
After considering a couple of places we ended up in Javier Bardem's family's bar for vino and a tortillita (omelette sort of deal). We headed back around one and I slept for the next billion years.
Surprisingly, I woke up to discover that I had only slept for 8 hours, not a billion years, after all. Chelsea and I met up and headed to Sol, grabbing a coffee in a cafe on the way. It was getting to be lunch time, so after some window shopping and some touristy viewings of the Plaza Mayor, we consulted her guidebook for a place to eat. Continuing in the vein of delicious cheese dishes, we ate cauliflower smothered in cheese and then a plate of cooked ham in roquefort. mmmm. Everything closes from 2-5 for siesta/lunch, so a long lunch is nice to relax and pass the time.
Chelsea had to head back to her program center for a meeting, so I did some wandering on my own back to the hostel. I'm on the hunt for a purse or bag that I can use in India that could hold my netbook. I instantly felt so much more vulnerable without Chelsea the pseudo-Spaniard (she's modest about her Spanish but it is seriously awesome) to respond to store clerks when they ask if I need any help. Other than simple pleasantries, my Spanish sucks (you know what else does? My Hindi. Good thing I don't need Hindi.. wait...). But exploring on one's own is fun and I scoped out a pizza place that we went back to later that night.
After a skype sesh with Jenna (when I should have been practicing Hindi) Chelsea and I hung out in the room and headed out in search of tapas. After a terrifying moment when I thought I had lost my wallet (and Chelsea was awesome and put up with my neurotic need to go make sure I had left it in the room - i did), we took the metro to the coolest place I've seen so far in Madrid, a market that can only be compared to a much more awesome version of Quincy Market in Boston. You walk around from stall to stall and get a drink (cheap ones 2-3E, more expensive 10+E if that's what floats your boat) and then pick out different bite sized options from each stall (fish, olives, cheese, meats, croquetas, ...even a sushi bar - it's super trendy in Madrid). Unfortunately even though the signs said the market didn't close until midnight, it started closing pretty much as soon as we got there. We were there long enough to get some croquetas and sangria and a mini pizza (minizza i just accidentally typed? i think yes), and stopped at the other pizza place I had seeen earlier that day for something more substantial.
At the pizza place, the clerk noticed I didn't speak Spanish so took the opportunity to tell me about all of the toppings on the pizza, including a few phrases Chelsea and I couldn't quite figure out: "Now this pizza, this is topped with very educated mushrooms." ??? He also informed us that the place used to be a publishing company, but he said it wasn't going so well so they were trying to do both, and you could buy a book and a slice of pizza for 4E if you were so inclined. Definitely a new business model. It was delicious. The pizza, that is.
We came back and poured over a Lonely Planet Spain guidebook and a "walking tour of art" pamphlet I got from the lobby. I think we're going to shop tomorrow around the Gran Via and then meet up for lunch with some Tufts kids.
And if you've read this far, bear with me, I know I'm painfully detailed now :) I'll work on it for India. If you've read this far, you're probably my Mom, or you're just awesome.
Love,
Laura
Hostal Barrera is gorgeous - a mom and pop owned place with really cute (really tiny, but really cute) rooms. I relaxed there for a while and met with Chelsea after her class. We walked around for a bit and had dinner around 9pm Madrid time in a place that was known in the guidebook as good for its brie con bacon and mojitos... Brie wrapped in bacon on toast might be best thing I've ever tasted (more like scarfed down since I still hadn't eaten since my last post about airplane peanuts). The delicious food combined with how hungry I was after travelling made for an amazing meal.
We then walked around Lavapies and Sol (something centro? apparently all distances are given from here). At every intersection and in front of every bar there are barkers who in a Miami-style ask you to come in for cheap drinks and usually talk about something getting something free blah blah blah. Some are more aggressive than others- in Miami they don't continue to follow you down the street, haha.
Also - It's not too cold here but apparently the Spanish think it's FREEZING. I know this is unseasonably cold for them (14 o centigrade in the sun most days) but it's really not that bad. I think of my friends in the -20 F windchill at Tufts and am grateful for the 45 F temperature here. It is pretty funny to watch people walk around in parkas and scarves in the 40s.. but I do have to say, when it's night or if you're even standing in the shade the temp massively drops... even if you turn down a street cast in shadow you can feel the difference.
After considering a couple of places we ended up in Javier Bardem's family's bar for vino and a tortillita (omelette sort of deal). We headed back around one and I slept for the next billion years.
Surprisingly, I woke up to discover that I had only slept for 8 hours, not a billion years, after all. Chelsea and I met up and headed to Sol, grabbing a coffee in a cafe on the way. It was getting to be lunch time, so after some window shopping and some touristy viewings of the Plaza Mayor, we consulted her guidebook for a place to eat. Continuing in the vein of delicious cheese dishes, we ate cauliflower smothered in cheese and then a plate of cooked ham in roquefort. mmmm. Everything closes from 2-5 for siesta/lunch, so a long lunch is nice to relax and pass the time.
Chelsea had to head back to her program center for a meeting, so I did some wandering on my own back to the hostel. I'm on the hunt for a purse or bag that I can use in India that could hold my netbook. I instantly felt so much more vulnerable without Chelsea the pseudo-Spaniard (she's modest about her Spanish but it is seriously awesome) to respond to store clerks when they ask if I need any help. Other than simple pleasantries, my Spanish sucks (you know what else does? My Hindi. Good thing I don't need Hindi.. wait...). But exploring on one's own is fun and I scoped out a pizza place that we went back to later that night.
After a skype sesh with Jenna (when I should have been practicing Hindi) Chelsea and I hung out in the room and headed out in search of tapas. After a terrifying moment when I thought I had lost my wallet (and Chelsea was awesome and put up with my neurotic need to go make sure I had left it in the room - i did), we took the metro to the coolest place I've seen so far in Madrid, a market that can only be compared to a much more awesome version of Quincy Market in Boston. You walk around from stall to stall and get a drink (cheap ones 2-3E, more expensive 10+E if that's what floats your boat) and then pick out different bite sized options from each stall (fish, olives, cheese, meats, croquetas, ...even a sushi bar - it's super trendy in Madrid). Unfortunately even though the signs said the market didn't close until midnight, it started closing pretty much as soon as we got there. We were there long enough to get some croquetas and sangria and a mini pizza (minizza i just accidentally typed? i think yes), and stopped at the other pizza place I had seeen earlier that day for something more substantial.
At the pizza place, the clerk noticed I didn't speak Spanish so took the opportunity to tell me about all of the toppings on the pizza, including a few phrases Chelsea and I couldn't quite figure out: "Now this pizza, this is topped with very educated mushrooms." ??? He also informed us that the place used to be a publishing company, but he said it wasn't going so well so they were trying to do both, and you could buy a book and a slice of pizza for 4E if you were so inclined. Definitely a new business model. It was delicious. The pizza, that is.
We came back and poured over a Lonely Planet Spain guidebook and a "walking tour of art" pamphlet I got from the lobby. I think we're going to shop tomorrow around the Gran Via and then meet up for lunch with some Tufts kids.
And if you've read this far, bear with me, I know I'm painfully detailed now :) I'll work on it for India. If you've read this far, you're probably my Mom, or you're just awesome.
Love,
Laura
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
this post mostly concerns food
this post was written when i was DYING for some airplane peanuts..
Good morning from Britain
Hello! It’s currently 6:45am EST, 12:45pm London-time, 1:45pm Madrid time, 3:15am Delhi-time. After the complicated affair of packing up my life into two small bags and a backpack and tying up all of the loose ends of home, I am finally off. Currently I’m at the gate in Heathrow airport waiting for my 12:15pm flight with Iberia to Madrid where I will meet Chelsea in the airport.
The act of getting all of my stuff together wasn’t really the issue – I’ve been packing bit by bit for so long that getting things into the bags happened quickly. It was all of those little things that you mentally remind yourself to do and then have to do allatthelastminute that were killer. My parents and I left for the airport for a last stop at the pharmacy for some things I forgot and to my friend Allison’s house to say goodbye L I’m so excited for this trip, but saying goodbye to friends at home has been sad. But in the words of my friend Kirsten, before I know it we’ll be in my living room looking at pictures from the semester.
My parents and I got to the BWI international wing way early and killed some time in a Starbucks before I headed through security and boarded my first of six flights on this journey. The British Airways flight was filled with study abroad students using Heathrow as a hub to their studies in the rest of the world. It was funny how you could pick them out. My seat was next to my new friend Megan, a UVM student headed to Grenada. It was her 21st birthday, and as it was departure day, she had been unable to celebrate, so we toasted some free white wine (oh hello international waters) to her birthday, to travel, and to two impending incredible semesters across the world.
Over the next seven hours I did do these things: watched Eat, Pray, Love (the book was better) and The Social Network (ok, it was pretty good), ate a (surprisingly) delicious dinner of some veggie pasta, chatted with Megan about our sororities, schools, plans, boys, music, watched as Megan took picture after picture of the gorgeous sunrise rising up to join us above the cloud cover. Over the next seven hours I did not do these things: watch the documentary on Gandhi that my program asked I watch, study my Hindi flashcards, read my required readings, sleep. Decisions, decisions.
We got in at 9:05am London-time, and I was instantly immersed into easily the most intense airport I’ve ever seen. Everything about Heathrow is intense – huge buses from terminal to terminal, security checks that involve opening even my chapstick to have a look around, duty free shopping stores that you literally have to walk through to get where you need to go, and just general confusion of the masses as people try not to miss their flights. Megan had a flight that left soon after landing, so I walked with her to the gate (no easy feat – it was faaaaaaar) and was on my own in Heathrow for a few hours.
My flight didn’t leave until 12:15pm, and every time I checked the board it ready simply that the number of the gate would be unavailable until 11:30am. Cutting it close if you ask me… but I’m not being asked ;) This breaks all kinds of rules of travel (avoiding raw fish in airports is probably a rule), but as soon as I saw this awesome sushi place with revolving dishes circling around the room, my love for sushi won out. I sat down and filled up a cup of water, and quickly realized it was pretty dirty… I was so hungry so I grabbed some edamame from the revolving plates, but the sushi didn’t look so good either. Figuring bad sushi was the last thing I wanted on my first day, I ate the edamame, paid, and left. Next place to hit up was a café offering croissants (worst croissant ever) and some British apple juice that was actually extremely delicious… Ok I know I’m getting super detailed here and you probably don’t want to hear about every single thing I’ve eaten, but I’m SO HUNGRY and food is on the brain. Skip forward if necessary..
This lead me to the Heathrow $$$ dilemma. Do not spend money in Heathrow unless you’re prepared to spend a lot of money in Heathrow, or have exact change, preferably in pounds. Though I paid in Euros, my change was given back to me in pounds, but it wasn’t enough to exchange at the exchange booth. Grrr……. These things are heavy and will have to wait to be spent until next layover. By then I’ve got to get better versed in pounds.
I’m on the plane to Madrid on Iberia Airlines now. Lots of rapid Spanish and no food. I made the mistake of ordering a tea assuming it was complimentary – not so. Farewell, 2E.
Chelsea is meeting me at the airport. So excited to get a sandwich and a NAP!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Packing up my life, cramming Hindi, and doing photo booth a session with my nieces.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Last minute stuff!
3 days to go! I'm kind of freaking out because there is still so much to do. I've packed up a lot of stuff and took a huge shopping trip to get everything from bug spray to appliance converters. While it's great that that stuff is done, that still leaves my essay (whoops) and my Hindi assignment (double whoops) and cleaning my room, which is a perpetual mess. I don't want to have to do my assignments while I'm in Madrid but it's looking more and more like that will be the reality. I'm going to try and get as much done as possible, but on the plus side, Chelsea will have a lot of stuff going on for her program in those few days, so hopefully i can use that time to my advantage and chill in a cafe somewhere and read/memorize the Devanagari script (Hindi alphabet that isn't really an "alphabet").
Also - I've been following the adventures of AdventurousKate! She writes a solo female travel blog and has been really inspirational. She's traveling through Cambodia/Laos/Vietnam for 7 months. While I'm not doing something THAT hardcore, her wit and advice on how to not sweat the small stuff and just enjoy travel have been great to read up on. I definitely recommend it.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Indira Gandhi International
After my six days in Spain with Chelsea, I'll fly back to Heathrow and on to Delhi. Last summer, anticipating traffic for the Commonwealth Games, Delhi completed a new terminal to the already jam-packed HUGE hub that it was at IGI - they call it T3, for international arrivals.It was completed in July '10, and is the 8th largest terminal and makes IGI the 9th largest airport in the world. And it's incredibly lavish - state of the art everything, luggage security that processes 12,800 bags an HOUR, ...and even a full service spa. It has something like 98 immigration desks to process international passengers quickly, and also includes many swanky restaurants, bars, department stores, and even a 100-bed hotel.
India has come under criticism for its creation as less than 1% of the population use air travel, so calling it an innovation to "bring India onto the world stage" is met with frustration at a country that is so poverty stricken.
Needless to say, the ten hours I will have to spend in IGI on Feb 1st will be an experience within itself.
Also - how awesome is this dramatic theme music?
Friday, January 14, 2011
A week and a half? What?!
I'm leaving SO SOOON! Here's the plan, stan:
Leaving from BWI the night of Jan 24th, layover in London, landing in Spain the afternoon of the 25th to see Chelsea Trunk!! I'll be staying for a week in Spain and then directly flying to Indira Gandhi International the night of the 31st, getting in on the 1st at 10:30 in the morning. I won't be able to meet with my group until 8pm that night, so I'll have a LOT of time to kill in the IDI airport.
I just got my Visa in the mail yesterday (whew) and got all of my immunizations last week from a clinic called Passport Health. Fortunately my mother did not come with me and become a witness to a presentation of all of the horrible things that could happen to me while abroad. I'll have to take anti-malarials (ewwww) and prep for the worst when it comes to my body's reaction to the bacteria of the East.
Buuuuut until I'm worshipping the porcelain goddess in some Northern Indian hostel, i can get excited about my week in Spain!!!! I'm in the midst of booking in a gorgeous hostel near Chelsea's homestay. While home is relaxing and snowy, and it's been hard to say goodbye to close friends who have headed back to school, I am so ready for this adventure to start.
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