Well, I am back...

Yes, I have finally made it back to York after one of the craziest trips of my life. You of course have already heard of my time in Spain, but you have not heard of the other places I have been...and there is a lot to tell. So lets just jump in.

Amsterdam.

Well I guess it really doesn't begin in Amsterdam, but in England, because I had to meet Maria in London, so I packed up, grabbed a bus to the train station and got on a train heading to London. There I found her at the British Museum. After wandering around there for a while we headed to the Spitifield Market, next to the Liverpool St Station where we needed to catch our train to the FERRY(!) we were going to take across the channel. The Market was really neat and is destined to be visited again.

But back to the good stuff...after waiting a good long time we boarded a nice little (bumpy) train to the ferry. After about a half an hour train we were at the ferry. Now I don't think I have seen two adults act so much like little kids as Maria and I were acting. ( I mean I know some adults who are basically big kids...but we were sooo excited!) It was soo cool!!! I mean it felt and looked like a HUGE cruise boat, but it was just a ferry. Our room was sooo nice! There was a full bathroom and enough room in the whole thing for both of us comfortably to move around, and it was nicely lighted and decorated and the beds were SOOO COMFORTABLE!!!! If I could have I would have taken that duvet with me. But I did not have any room.

We had decided to travel at night, hence saving us a day, and the pain of trying to find a hostel in London, or book another night in Amsterdam. So, Maria and I enjoyed our stay on the boat and went to bed. Of course we forgot about the fact that when you go to Europe...you lose another hour, so even though we set our alarms for 6:00...we really didn't wake up until the captain called over the loudspeaker that it was 7:00 and that we would be landing shortly. Ooops.

To get to Amsterdam we had to take a train via Rotterdam. Once in Amsterdam we had to figure out where we lived. Of course I forgot to look up where our Hostel was, and so did Maria, so after much searching on maps and on the internet at the information center we asked someone. Of course it ended up that I had picked a hostel outside of the true center of Amsterdam and so we had a half hour tram ride. On the plus side...free breakfast and internet. Another odd plus was we got towels two of the three nights we were there. Also our roommates were all some really nice people.

Now Amsterdam itself is a very interesting city known for the things that are legal there and not everywhere (for the most part) else. If you do not know what these things are...well ok.

We of course went there not for those things, but for the history and the buildings. Amsterdam as a city is a very interesting place. Full of canals and trams and dams and kerks and bikes. LOTS and LOTS of Bikes. To get around we decided to purchase hop on hop off canal boat tour passes. These lasted for two days and were really nice, but sadly we didn't really use them to their full potential. We went to the Rijksmuseum on one day...and after going through it went to get lunch at a nice outdoor cafe. After sitting down...it rained on us...then the rain got a little stronger, and all of a sudden it wasn't rain anymore...but hail...which grew in size until it was the size of a raspberry. We of course could go nowhere...so we stayed put. Me sheltering my camera, purse, and in a way Maria while Katherine hid under her umbrella. We were told later that that is the usual weather pattern...sun, rain, hail, sun, hail, rain...etc etc...crazy.

The next day we were in Amsterdam it was just Maria and I, Katherine had moved on to meet her family in London. We were set to meet up with a friend from York though Maartin. In the morning we decided to use our boat bus tickets for one more final lap around the canals and then set out to meet Maartin at the Dam (center of town). Once he caught up with us we all went to lunch and had a pleasant conversation about something Maria had eaten (ended up possibly being horse.....still not quite sure) and just life in general. Afterward we got coffee and headed back toward the Dam. Once there we decided to take a tour of the Royal Palace...which Maartin told us had not been open to the public in a while and which was one of the coolest places I have ever been. I recommend looking at my pictures of that place. My favorite room was the main entry hall...because on the floor were three maps...one was of Europe and Asia and Africa...one was of the stars, and the third was the "new world" meaning north and south america. That night was our last night in Amsterdam. The next morning I woke up really early and hopped the 600 tram back into the city to catch the train out to the airport to fly to Madrid where my parents were arriving the next day.

This should catch everything up to the post before this. I will write more later about my trip from Spain to the beautiful country of Italy.

Yes I know its skipping a few places...but now is better then never.

MADRID!!!!

Hello from Spain. It is currently my last day here...with my parents. I am hoping to come back at some point because it is better then it ever could be here. I have spent this past week with my parents...well since the 3rd, I got into Madrid on the 2nd after visiting the great city of Amsterdam. But this is not going to be about Amsterdam...this is going to be about spain...and the fun with my parents...also this comes not just from me, but from them as well...well my mom since she is sitting next to me, and my brother who just walked away from us so maybe not so much from him.

We are currently sitting in the lobby of a hotel located supposedly close to the Madrid airport...but we passed the airport on our way here, so I am not so sure its the closest...oh well it works since tomorrow I am flying to Rome at a really bad time (7:40...meaning i have to get up at 5:00 AM) and my parents have to fly home back to good ol´ Chicago as well.

BUT here is what we have been up to.

As I stated already I got into Spain a day before them, and because my dad is such a nice person, checked into a nice hotel only a short walk away from basically the center of Madrid. Since I hadn´t really eaten anything at all since that morning in the airport in amsterdam my first goal, after taking a REAL shower (more about the shower situation in Amsterdam later), I decided to get some food. Now the dilemma was...should I brave the city with my really poor spanish, or should I just order room service and laze about. I decided to go for a walk and see what I could find. SOO an Ice Cream sandwhich in Parque de Buen Retiro worked for lunch. After sitting under a tree for a few (ten) minutes watching some guys playing football (european football...not american) and a really cute little girl blow bubbles into her unlucky brothers face, I went back down the hill in search of el Museo del Sofia Reina (if my spelling/naming of places is wrong...deal with it...i am in a hotel lobby, not at my desk with the paraphanalia from the trip around me) in the hopes to waste some more daylight. Now this musem was a little confusing...because once you walked into the square in the middle, only one door from it actually let me back out, or should i say back in, to the museum...but once i figured it out I actaully saw some good art. There were of course a good amount of modern art, since the museum is a modern art museum, but I saw some Dali originals and that made me really excited...my camera had died though, so i didnt have any way to take pictures of them. THere was also a really good short silent film that I watched that made me laugh and that I am going to try to search for (probably with no luck) once I am back in York.

Dinner (sadly) consisted of a cheeseburgar and small fries from Mc Donalds...I know I am dissapointed in myself as well. The rest of the night I ended up watching american movies and tvshows dubbed in spanish...if you thought it was hard to follow the Gilmore Girls banter in English...its ten times worse in Spanish...but as good.

The next morning I was awaken by the sound of my room telephone and the voice I heard was MY DAD!!!! They had arrived. Now...when I had arrived I had tried to switch my room to a double...meaning TWO BEDS...but the place was completely full so that was not possible...so my room (which was about the size...maybe smaller...then my room back in York...which is basically the size of my brothers room back home) had to soon fit four people (mom, me, dad, mike) plus about five persons worth of luggage (no one travels light) in it. Lets just say I went to breakfast. My dad fell asleep right away (check out wasnt till noon and it was only 8) my mom tried...but soon joined me at breakfast...my brother just didnt bother...until later when we were actually going to try to see something. SOO after some napping...and some reading...and some repacking...we all checked out of my tiny room and hopped a cab to our REAL hotel. Which was a basically luxury hotel complete with huge ceilings and a perfect view of a more historical Madrid. My brother and I got one room and my parents took another. Lets just say that my brother and I got the better end of the straw with the good view. My parents looked out on a wall. Umm...the rest of the day was taken up by unpacking and then heading out into the city. We decided that our first conquest should be the Palacio del Reyes where we stood in line for about a half an hour and got rained on for about the last ten minutes. BUT it was worth it. The palace was really really nice. It was filled with rich rooms and huge chandeliers...some of which would not fit in a normal size room. There was gold, and silver, and brocade, and fine jewels, and jade, and a good amount of ceramic work...some of which was on the walls and ceilings.

After the palace though we decided we needed food and drink and so found an ok restaurant by our hotel.

Quick side note...my brother doesnt really experiment with food...meaning that anything that was not cheese, ham, bread, or a burger, was out of the question. So hunting for dinner was very difficult for most of the trip...that is until we got to Seville. More on that later

In Madrid we also hit the Museo del Prado (BIIG ART MUSEUM:::which ended up being free) and the Catedral (which we actually kinda of went to for about five minutes on Easter sunday). We walked by the Opera a good amount and even went to the Plaza del Sol and Plaza Mayor on a few occasions...Mayor was one of our frequent stops for food...and Chocolate con Churros. This dish...was basically hot chocolate (and when I say hot chocolate I do not mean the drink...but what happens when you melt a candy bar in a pot...and add a little bit of milk) and churros...which if you have never tasted before are basically fried dough. Of course it was not just one churro per person, no when you ordered they took into consideration that there were four people...and so gave you about ten peoples worth of churros. It was delicious.

Other things that happened with my parents were that I did not have to pay for much, meaning DAY TRIPS!!!!
First one, Toledo.
Toledo is a little town about a half hour train ride from Madrid located in a very hilly area. It is an oooold town that really hasnt changed much in the time it has been around. Of course the main attraction (the Alcazar) was closed, but we still did see the Catedral there and also a Monestary and a lot of really interesting small alleys. Something that was in excess was paintings by El Greco. If you do not know who he is...ask my brother, I think he now has become the expert.
Second day trip was Segovia.
This town is again very small and very old. The main attractions are the Roman Aquaduct...which has been standing for about 2000 years...without mortar...the Catedral, which is HUGE! and another Alcazar...which looked like a true Castle...picture fairy tale castle with not so many towers and brown. Of course this castle had been burned down...at some point but the replica in its place did have original work in it and still had original ceilings and walls in a good amount of the area...so it was realllllly worth it. We also climbed up its tower...all 152 steps of it and saw the whole valley and the mountains beyond and the storks and the hawks and it was just magnificent. My camera again died at the wrong moment.

After these road trips and Madrid my parents and I said goodbye to the wonderful center of Spain and headed South. Here it was increadably WARM!!!! All of us got to Seville and the first thing on entering our hotel (that is after going up and down through tunnels and courtyards to get to our rooms) was all of us changed into shorts. Yes I wore shorts for FOUR DAYS!!! IN APRIL!!! Lets just say it felt good to shed the jeans and get some sun.

Our hotel was a very interesting place. It was located in the Old Jewesh Corner of the city, where all of the old cool stuff is, and was made up of four different buildings, all of which were crawling in flowers and vines and tunnels (the easiest way to get between the buildings) and stairs and it was just perfect. I got pictures of some of the areas, so look for those(also look for my brothers tour of the tunnels...lets just say its pretty good). Our building had something to do with Music, and we did hear music from the building behind ours. We had a two rooms again, my brother and I in one, and my parents in another. There was a nice littler veranda between the two which we soon took over (I kinda felt bad for the other guests we shared it with...we used it more then them for sure). In Seville we took our nice time seeing the sites doing a bus tour the day we got in, and then a walking tour and the Alcazar the next day. I am ALWAYS doing walking tours from now on. Having a live guide is so much better then listening through headphones. In Seville we also vistited the Catedral, one of the three largest in Europe and the Plaza del Torros (bull ring). No we did not see an actual bull fight...but there was one the night before we left. Of course the Real Madrid Barcelona game was top priority for us. (YEAY BARCELONA!!!) Most of our trip in Seville was centered around really good food (lucky us the restaurant across the street was top notch) and relaxation, giving us time to visit with each other, play some cards, and get a slight sunburn.

Well that basically wraps up our nice little trip. As we sit here my mom is already starting to get emotional about leaving tomorrow. I am just dreading getting up so early to get to Rome...but hey its better then flying in at 9 PM. I am also about to hit a slightly thinner budget...yep...no more splurges on room service buckets of ice, and well places with roomservice. Time to go back to Hostels and cheap food.

Thats it for now,
Signing off from Madrid again, its the WHOLE GUIRL FAMILY, not just Ellen.
The main part of this group will be back in Rockford Monday night, of course I will be continuing my eurpoean excursion and will try to actually get something up about Amsterdam at some point...oh and my London trip as well as my mom has just reminded me.

Cheers.