Brighton venture!

Hello! Even though I didn't do much today, I'm pretty tired or burnt out for some reason. I woke up to do laundry, not hand wash, thank goodness! My hand is still sore from the wringing.

Since I didn't want to go anywhere big because I just got back from Spain. We decided to just tour around the city we lived in, Brighton. We went to Marina.

It's hard to see, but the sign says 'Mermaid walk shops.'
This is Marina. It's a small part of Brighton.

We also went to Brighton Pier. I got to try my first fish and chip ever!

Very good to eat, but very bad for health reasons.
I felt the grease in my stomach.
So windy today!

Brighton Pier. It's like Santa Monica Pier, but with more things to do.
There are rides and arcades and slot machines.

I guess the fun part of the day was when we almost got attacked my seagulls. They are so vicious! Here's a video clip of seagulls gone wild. Sorry the angle is bad..

That's basically what I did today. Tomorrow, Bath and Stonehenge!

Almost done updating with Spain

Hola! Today was an ordinary Friday.. So glad that there is no class on Fridays! Today was very chill. I hand washed some of my clothes to lessen the load. Laundry is expensive here.. 3 pounds per load! So I figured I'd try to save and wash the easy ones by hand. All that's left are jeans, jackets, and towels.

I played badminton and ping pong too. My sister and I made chicken curry with rice! Yum! Lastly, I watched The Prestige.

ok now onto the last day in Spain.

Last day. July 27,2010

Woke up pretty late considering we got back really early last night. It's probably all the exhaustion building up. We checked out of the Nest Hostel, but put our luggages in the luggage room. Our flight back to Brighton is not until 11 at night. So we walked around in LaRambla again and bought souvenirs. Leather is what Spain is known for so I got some leather souvenir for a special someone. We also walked around markets too.

We went to the Picasso Museum afterwards. It's interesting how Picasso transitioned his artwork from realistic paintings to weird cubism. Starved after walking a lot.. so we ate at Pans & Company , which is like the Spanish fast food restaurant.

We walked to La Rambla del Mar and sat around til 7ish. We head to the hostel to get our luggages and headed to the airport.

Our 10:50 flight with easyjet arrived to London Gatwick at 12:20 am. I got to Brighton around 2 am. It wasn't until 3 am that we got to go on the bus to go to the campus. I made it back to my room close to 4 in the morning, the same day as class for summer session 2 begins. I'm not going to class. Need sleep.

Here's a video clip of a night in Barcelona.
My sister took the video.

Finally done with the Spain update. Sorry it's boring and not as vivid with details. But I'm really glad that I went to Spain. I got to experience true traveling and a refreshing culture. I'm going to go back someday with my special bf, Kevin! (:

To be continued...

Today was an ordinary Thursday. Class ( which I actually went to, but fell asleep in) and lab. Nothing out of the usual.. I did, however, get to watch Despicable Me. Good movie!

OK to continue with my Spain stories.

Day 3 July 25, 2010
Good bye Madrid, Hello Barcelona!

I can't express in words how grateful and appreciative I am of having God and people I care in my life. God is good and I can see his works in all the ancient churches I've gone to. GOD IS GOOD!

Today we checked out of our hostel and headed for the train station. God is good because we got to live in the hostel we lived in. The hostel was nice and it was close to the city life. I was glad to have a place to live in Spain because I saw people out on their blown up mattresses on the streets. I saw people laying on the floor, sleeping next to their luggages (which is dangerous because it's bound to be stolen). I'm thankful for God's protection from the day we left from Brighton to now traveling to Barcelona. The people were nice to. They watched over us even when they didn't know us.

On the metro to go to the train station, my sister almost got pick pocketed. She put her backpack behind her and someone stood behind her. It was another passenger on the metro that tapped my friend on the shoulder. This passenger pointed to his eye as he left the metro. I didn't know what that meant. I was the only one that made eye contact with him and so none of my friends thought much of it. At that moment, my sister felt a tug on her backpack and quickly reached for her pockets. God is good because as she reached behind, the small pocket of her backpack was half way open. Luckily nothing was taken. Apparently the man who stood behind her was sly to get off the next stop.

God is good because that's when it dawned on me what the previous passenger meant by pointing at his eye. He warned us to watch out. He warned us to be careful of our things and he warned us of pick pocketers. I felt so grateful that God was protecting us by ways I never expected. I don't know why, but the passenger's little gesture made such an impact on me because it made me think that there are good people out there. It made me think that God has my back and that I have utterly safe with him. After that incident, I experienced this overwhelming peace, joy, and love that God can only bring. From the very beginning, He's been watching over us. I can't help to smile and think to myself.. GOD IS GOOD! GOD IS GOOD!

I'm truly at peace, as I watch the country side of Spain pass me by. Heading to Barcelona on a train. I love the people here, there are friendly and sincere. Transportation is quiet easy with metros and cheap fares.

Finally made it to Barcelona. We got to the Yellow Nest Hostel. For this hostel, we shared the room with the guys we traveled with. The room is not bad at all. It's actually better than the one in Madrid. One side of the room was the guys and the other side was for my sister and I. Bunk beds on opposite sides of the wall. And! There was A.C.! There are shared bathrooms with the same gender.. so not bad at all.

First day out in Barcelona. We went to La Rambla, which is a strip that goes towards the Rambla del mar. Lots of performers again and lost of outdoor restaurants. For dinner we ate an more traditional Spanish food. I ate Chorizo sausages, fries, and eggs. And Coca Cola is so refreshing in the heat of Spain. Even though it makes you even more dehydrated, it really quenches your thirsts.

After we walked around towards the beach. We got a free shot from a promo of a bar. This one smelled orange-y. We walked for hours and sat on the beach that over looked the full moon and the calm sea. The whole day I kept thinking of Kevin. I wish He was here.

We took a taxi back to our hostel because the metro closes early on Sundays. Tomorrow.. on to site seeing stuff.


Day 4 July 26, 2010

Woke up pretty early around 9 and got to go to Sagrada Familia, which is a modern/Gothic church that's still being built. We didn't go inside because the hostel lady told us that it takes hours to just get in and when you go in, all you'll see is construction sites because it's still being built. The good thing about going there was that my sister and I got to take a picture with Gus from Psych! It's amazing how the most unlikely place across the world, we got to see an American actor! It was cool to take a picture. I was more excited about the picture than the actual Sagrada Familia.

Borris Gotic, and Gaudi buildings.. Golden Square. Placa de Reial? IDK. We walked everywhere. I feel like the buildings are cool, but it's all the same to me because it's all by the same architecture. I think the best part about Spain is just experiencing the culture. Old buildings are cool to take a picture of, but the culture is something that really be grasped by one camera shot. The culture was something that I had to live it out.

We walked to the beach, which was pretty far!! Sat at a cafe on the beach, drank Sangria, and ate cheese. Good thing the beach wasn't a nude beach, but there were a lot of topless girls and even old women tanning. Went back to the hostel because I think the wine and the heat of the sun made us sleepy. We took part in the siesta.

At night, we went to La Rambla again to eat dinner. Dinner was ok, but not extraordinary. I ate a pizza. Prices in Barcelona range from 10-24 euros for a decent to good meal.

WE took the metro to go to an ice bar near the beach. ICE BARCELONA was soo fun! Admission fee was 15 euros, but that included a free drink. We geared up with thick jackets and headed into the -9 degrees C. Everything was made out of ice! The chairs and even the cups! It was soo cool to just literally Chill!

After many pictures, we walked out and walked on the beach. The warmth of the sand and the water felt really good after the chilling exposure. Today was probably the highlight of Barcelona. We just sat on the rocky pier looking at the full moon, hearing the crashing waves, and sitting in peace. I miss Kevin A lot. I felt bad for the people I traveled with because I kept mentioning it.

Oh! to end the great day.. I checked my final exam grade. I got an A. That topped the whole day.

The last day in Spain.. to be continued again..

Home sweet home..ish.

Hola! I'm back! It'll be hard to tell everything that's happened in Spain... but I will try.

But first.. random facts of the day today.. I arrived from Barcelona to my dorm around 3:30 in the morning. I skipped my 9 am lecture to sleep in more.. While I was on the bus to go to the grocery store, a smelly old man had his armpits in my face as he was holding onto the bus railing and I was sitting underneath his aroma.. lastly, I miss Kevin very much!

ok So for the Madrid trip.. I think I'm going to write everything I wrote on my journal on this blog on a day by day basis. So here it goes.

Day 1 ---> July 22, 2010 Thursday/ July 23, 2010 Friday

Finished final! Yay! Not so bad. 20 questions and I skipped 4 and guessed on 1. So worse case is that I get 15/20, which is still a 75%. It's still an A.. so not worried. It's over!

Got on the train and went to the air port around 6. Got there around 7 pm.. but found out that our 9:15 departure time was delayed to 11:40 pm. I roamed around a book store for like 3 hours trying to find the perfect book to read. Bought Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. yay!

Got to Madrid around 3 am and slept in the air port.. actually didn't sleep at all, but read and waited for the time to be 8 am. Took a taxi over to our hostel.When we got to our hostel, we found out that we can only check in at noon. So dead tired, we walked around the city because our hostel was in the center of the popular sites. The city was quiet 8 in the morning.

Dead tired. Check in to Casa de la Plaza hostel at 12 pm. Hostel is nicer than I expected. Separate rooms for the guys and my sister and I. Better bathrooms here than in my dorm in Sussex. It's private, but shared with any gender.

Took a nap since I didn't sleep at all in the morning. Woke up and walked to see palace Reial and the cathedral. So beautiful! The walls were covered with the same fabric as the furniture and everything was grand. The palace was owned by various kings and queens. Too bad I couldn't take pictures of the inside. We went to Parque de Madrid and so Alfonso XII mounument. SO hot in Spain. Sweated like none other and walked everywhere.

Came back to the hostel to shower and took part in the siesta (naps during the day) before starting the night life. Most shops close during the day and everything is usually quiet during the day. But night life starts around 9 or later.

For dinner we ate Paella and Fidugal (rice stew-ish) and drank Sangria (very good mix of wine and juice). Sat outdoors in the warm air and truly experienced the Spanish culture.

Walked around Plaza de Mayor and Puerto del Sol, saw creative performers. We went club/bar hopping after walking around. Got free drinks from promotions of the clubs. Went to at least 3-4 clubs. Ended the night at 2 am, which is when night life actually starts in Madrid.

Day 2 ----> July 24, 2010 Saturday
Toledo

Woke up at 10 am. Left our hostel around 10:30-11. Took the metro all the way to the bus station. From Madrid to Toledo was a 75 min ride.

Toledo. It was hard finding the entrance to go inside the city. High brick walls surrounded the city. Finally found an entrance. The city inside the fortress is very hilly. The weather was super hot. The city was quiet. Possibly because it's either Saturday or because it's during the day.

Walked everywhere! Went to sinagogas, iglesias, moasterios, and museos. That's basically all there is to see. Ate chorizo and queso for lunch. yum!

Tired and super dark, we headed back to our hostel to shower and take a nap. Night life started at 10 pm. For dinner we ate at a buffet. We figured we owe it to ourselves since we walked extra miles and extra hills around Toledo. Dinner here usually begin around 9ish 10. Everything is postponed by a few hours. Like breakfast is usually 10 am.. or none at all. Lunch starts around 2? and Dinner later around 9-10. Partying starts around 2.

Don't get me wrong, but I'm not much a partier or a drinker or anything. I know where my grounds stand though and I have a lot of self control. Being here in Spain let me experience the side of going to clubs and drinking because it's a part of the culture. It's something I'm bound to experience either sooner or later. So I decided why not in Spain when it's the norm and why not when I have friends I can trust. The night life. I got a free shot. We went to a karaoke bar this time. It's amusing how Spanish people are not afraid to sing aloud and especially in English. Seeing Asian guys singing to a Spanish song would have been funnier.. but didn't get the chance to. We ended up heading home after absorbing the atmosphere and people watching around. Here are some pictures of creative performers/acts.

That sums up pretty much the time in Madrid. Barcelona.. I will resume tomorrow.