Yo Ho Yo Ho a Spanish life for me...

Hello from Salem OR!

You may be wondering, hmmm some travel journal lame-face. you're in your hometown. you're not allowed to update from there. You are right. But I have many reasons why this update is necessary...

1. I can't sleep. I feel like it's 5pm, not 12am. Probably because it is 5pm in Australia.
2. I never updated about the end of my trip.
3. I need to finish up the trip because of my new BRILLIANT journal publishing idea and book I bought.
4. I just poured myself the rest of the wine bottle... I won't mention when I opened it.
5. This wins over the chick-flick marathon on FX that I was getting super sucked into about an hour ago.

So here we ready, set, go--

My last entry was from the Gold Coast. We left later that day that I updated. We didn't really bring our "A-game" in travel organization that day. (Example- waited at a bus stop for about an hour only to find out that our bus was never coming to that particular stop)  So by the time we got to Brisbane, we were pretty pooped. We still got to meet up with Naomi and Dave for dinner though. Ended up going to a gourmet burger place. We split 2 burgers, a salad and a side of fries between the four of us. (We are learning how to save money slowly but surely!)

On Thursday Amanda got up for a run and I stayed in bed. The End. hahahahaha.

No but really, she did and I did. Running is hard for me now that I am used to having super fun dance workouts. I get bored and my run turns into a merengue march. It's not a pretty sight.

Naomi came to our hotel after her baby yoga class. (cute, I know) We went for a quick lunch and "carbed-up" for our afternoon to come. Rented bicycles and rode them around the Botanical Gardens and near the water. Super fun! Brisbane is definitely made for pedestrians and bikers. They have a couple of beautiful pedestrian only bridges. I was impressed. We have one of those in Salem, we need more!
So bike rides, sore bums and a scoop of gelato later, we were off for our next activity- a hike to the lookout of the city. We missed our bus though so this hike turned into a bus ride to Naomi's apartment. We waited for Dave to get off and then walked to a really yummy pizza joint and had the works- appetizer, pizza, desert. AMAZING.

On Friday us girls all caught the early train to a town outside of Brisbane called "Cleveland". From there it was a bus, a ferry and then another bus to get to "North Stradbroke Island". So worth the trip! It was absolutely beautiful. Sparkling turquiose water, big rocky cliffs, tons of wildlife! We hiked along the coast and saw TONS of whales, dolphins and sea turtles! It was the perfect conclusion to a great trip.


Australia is a beautiful country... love the nature and the wildlife.... and the weather! Was it really supposed to be winter there? Sure didn't seem like it. (I'm not an Oregon fan in that way, I just LOVE the sun) Everyone in Australia is super friendly. I actually got upset during
my layover in LAX when I observed how rude some people were to eachother. in Burger King. Then, right after, I sat down and shared a table and some chicken nuggets with 3 Aussie Elders and we were instant friends talking about traveling, jobs, life, and laughing a ton. I'm not saying that all Australians are friendly and all people from the States are not... but I do think we (Americans)  need to learn to come out of our individualistic, ego-centric bubble a little bit. Wow, ok... allow me to step off my soap box and down the last drop of wine in my glass.

On a different note, I have one complaint about this trip. I had 0% culture shock... which i thrive off of when I travel. Everything seemed so familiar, so easy. The only hard thing was learning how to walk on the left side of the sidewalk. It's hard coming from experiences like Argentina, Spain and Italy where the language, food, fashion, people, timeliness, and overall "feel" of the country is a moving experience in itself to going somewhere so far away yet so similar to my life back here. Just my thoughts.

I wonder where the next plane I get on will take me.

B

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: Nena Daconte

FYI- We are at the GOLD COAST!

The Gold Coast is supposed to be like the "Las Vegas"  of Australia. Sort of makes sense since we were told to go to a bar called "Sin City" yesterday by many different locals. (We declined). We got here semi late on Monday evening but made it thanks to a nice lady who sat next to us on our flight and proceeded to escort us almost all the way to our hotel. What luck! I ended up calling her my "Aussie Auntie", she sort of reminded me of my Aunt Gennan at least. :) The hotel we're staying at here is SUPER NICE compared to where we've been. We acted like spoiled princesses and treated ourselves to room service for dinner. :) 

Yesterday we walked along the coast. (No, didn't look very gold, but it was nice!) and had lunch near the water. We relaxed for mostly the rest of the day. I caught up on quite a bit of reading. (Amanda and I are reading the same book at the same time. She's a little ahead of me. It's like our own little Aussie sister book club). Took in a couple of the Irish pubs for dinner and a couple of brews. Met a nice Irish laddy named Steve... gosh I love that accent! Love how they say "me" instead of "my" and don't use the "th". We were in to our nice room early. This city has been the most relaxing of all. :) 

I've been requested to give a certain someone a shout-out on here. HI MARCUS McFARCUS!!!!!


Bye!!!!.....!!

B

Current Location: Gold Coast
Current Mood: refreshed
Current Music: Physical- Olivia Newton John... they would

I am pretty excited about a little discovery/brilliant idea I just had! As Amanda and I were walking along the street I found a store with the cutest stationary and little hand made journals. I bought the cutest little "travel journal" and my new mission is to past ALL  these journal entries from my trips into it when I get home! Ooooo a new project to keep me entertained. (As if I need one with school starting up right when I return home!)
Oh, and someday I will publish it and become a famous author. Take that EAT, PRAY, LOVE.

So Saturday night was definitely the most fun I've had on the trip so far. We went to the football game with Nick and Annette and some of their friends. I'm so glad we had them by our side to explain the rules to us and how the game works. It's much different then our football that we have in the US or soccer. We cheered on the Swans via watching when everybody else was cheering. lol! After the game we went with everyone to a pub for a couple of drinks and some good conversation. Saying goodbye to our new great friends was hard, as always when traveling, but I'm so glad we got to spend the time with them that we did. They definitely made our trip here more authentic and fun.

Yesterday we decided to have a beach day and took a train and then a bus out to BONDI. It was quite fun watching all the crazy surfers in the freezing cold ocean do their thing. We did the coastal walk between Bondi and Bronte... sort of reminded me of the Cinque Terre hike, only much easier and shorter. After our hike we decided to head back to the city and take the ferry out to Manly for dinner. We ended up finding this little tiny underground pub that was serving up just what we were looking for- Yummy cheap food, pints of blonde, pool, and live music! We met some fun Aussies who were also partaking in the Sunday night fun and had a great night hanging with them. Penny, Dan and Tristrim? Something like that. :)

Today we are heading back up North on our Jetstar Jetplane and plan to stay a couple of nights at the gold coast doing whatever fancies us. I'm a bit nervous as my wonderful credit union has decided to decline my one credit card that I have here. Hopefully everything works out.

Cheers!
Breezy

PS. Mom- Thanks for all your sweet updates and comments! It sounds like Zach will be picking us up at the aeropuerto. Marcus and I will have to pass on the Labor Day invite, we are going camping and seeing Dave Matthews up at the Gorge. Amanda wanted me to tell you that they have possible beach plans that weekend but it's still up in the air. Love you!!

PPS. Internet Cafes are real sleazy. I need some serious hand sanitizer after this update. :(

Current Location: Still Sydney. Go SWANS!
Current Mood: jubilant

First of all- HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY MUM AND DAD! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!

Amanda and I have settled in quite well in  my new favorite city! On Thursday night we met Nick (my old pal from the college Poling days)  and Annette, his fiance. They were WONDERFUl hosts and treated us to pizza down by the water and a beautiful ferry ride from the beach where Nick lives back to the city. It was so much fun comparing cultures and accents with them and getting LOTS of tips and pointers on what to go do and see.  I wish we could've spent more time with them... we're hoping to meet them for the Aussie Football game tonight but I must make this entry a quickie if we're going to do it in time!

Yesterday we slept in, (yay!) and headed for"The Rocks" which is the older area of Sydney. We stumbled upon a cute lil farmer's market in there to pass some time. We then walked the harbour bridge and decided after that we had earned ourselves a pint at the Glenmore Hotel (pub). We sat up on the rooftop that overlooked the city and ended up having more than just one to relax and enjoy the view. It was the perfect way to spend a few hours. :) 

Last night we got a little dressy and saw a show at the Sydney Opera House! We got lucky last minute discounted tickets for being "students" (cough, cough, I got away with using my OSU ID with a picture taken of me at the ripe age of 18!) It ended up being a "contemporary dance" show of someone's interpretation of the Australian aboriginals.... ummmmm, it was, interesting? Definitely an unforgettable experience. We ended the night with our walk back to the hotel, said "what's up" to all our red light district peeps along the way, and just CRASHED.

Today has been a great day as well! We took the train over to the "paddy's markets" and did a bit of shopping and then headed down to Darling Harbour. Went to the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife World. There were some really cool shark exhibits at the aquarium! We then headed over to the "Sydney Tower" which is like this city's equivalent to the Space Needle for some breathtakeing 360 views of the city!

I need to close this up and head back to the hotel for a change of clothes before the game tonight. I have one question though, Why in the world would you name your team the "Sydney Swans?" Couldn't it be something a bit more ferocious? Sydney Sharks? Sydney Stingrays? Sydney Slurpees? Sydney Seagulls?....

Etc,
Brianne

Current Mood: amused

Like the subject? I found that in my travel book as Sydney slang. I wonder if I'll hear it at all while I'm here?


So yesterday was a blast! We started the day by wandering a street market that sold all kinds of fresh produce and interesting things. I think I could eat an entire meal there just by sampling everything. We then ventured over to the Brisbane museum area and walked along the pier and through the botanical gardens. Amanda and I decided to surprise Naomi and Dave with tickets to go to see Mama Mia, the musical, that night as a THANK YOU for all they've been doing for us during our stay. It was a blast! Such a fun play, we were all dancing at the end and one of us was even crying tears of pure joy!!! ;) A great way to end our last night in Brisbane for awhile.

Amanda and I got up at a leisurely 5:15 am this morning in order to catch our flight to Sydney. We are staying in a cute part of town! Sure, it's right next to the red light district but other than that, we feel we found a steal for our money! We are thinking of buying a 3 day unlimited transit pass to get around the city. All the ferries, busses, trains and (GASP!) METROS!!!!!!! we could ever hope to hop on and off of. Should be a great time. We've already been to the botanical gardens and gotten some great scenic pics (or as my amiga Miss Epley would call- "Senior pics".) I'm hoping to be able to post them via facebook or journal before coming home but we'll see.

SO. Tonight. We're going to get freshened up and then meet up with my buddie Nick and his fiance for dinner. I can't wait to reunite with him! Should be a great way to start off this leg of the journey!

Ok, I suppose I shall end with a classic Brianne moment.

This morning, in the airport terminal going through security, I am unsure if I should take off my North Face fleece or if it's ok to leave on.

Me to security lad: "How's my Jacket?"

Security lad to me: "Your Jacket looks great!"

Oops. Sorry, I don't speak Australian Security.

B

Current Location: Sydney
Current Mood: dorky
Current Music: Mama Mia songs on repeat in my head

G'day mates!

So we're here! Amanda and I are comfortably situated at our perfectly central three star hotel in downtown Brisbane! We ended up seeing eachother at the Sydney airport during our layovers and Naomi met us upon arrival in Brisbane! This city is pretty cool, peninsula shaped all surrounded by water. I can't believe how expensive everything is! The average meal here is around 20+ dollars. (We went grocery shopping yesterday of course to cut costs a bit) 

Yesterday Amanda, Naomi and I went to the Koala sanctuary here in Brisbane. They had so much neat wildlife that I'd never seen before! TONS of Koalas (we got to pet one!), emus, dingos, platypus, wombats, tazmanian devils, and an entire area where you can walk around and kangaroos are just everywhere hopping freely. It was a really neat experience! SO NEAT, in fact, that I dropped my camera in the Koala exhibit has I was snapping photos due to a giant australian bug landing on me and me freaking out a bit. I broke the lens, just like I did in Spain last summer with my other camera. So our next stop after the Koala Sanctuary was the camera shop in the mall. 99 dollars (spent on the cheapest camera I could find) later, I walked out of that store a once again happy Breezy.

We ended the day with meeting our favorite mate Dave, Naomi's husband, and taking the ferry into town for dinner. This city is super beautiful at night especially! I just wish some of the sky scrapers would go away, then it would be even better!

Tomorrow we leave bright and early for a flight down to Sydney! I'm quite excited about this adventure! Amanda's friend Danielle from the states is staying down there as well as my Australian friend from OSU, Nick. We are hoping to get a local's perspective on what to do go do and see. Should be exciting, I'll keep y'all posted!

Besos,
B

Current Location: Brisbane, Australia
Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: Cafe tunes

Hi travel journal! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAaaack. (Creepy voice)


I'm trying to warm up my blogging skills for my big Australian adventure that begins tomorrow! I'm very excited that my co-star of this trip is none other than my Lil Sis- Amanda Cam! Yay!!! The way we landed into this idea to go down under is kind of a funny thing really. One of my bestest friends and fellow third grade teacher, Naomi Dail, was telling me about how her husband was offered an internship in Brisbane, Australia for the entire summer. I'm not entirely sure that Naomi realized that upon telling me this, I was going to jump at the chance to come visit her, but she did and..... I did! So here we go- Brisbane for the first few days, Sydney for a long 4 day weekend and then who knows where for the last leg. It's going to be a weird experience, being in such a foreign place and yet hearing my native tounge. (I've had to talk to a lady who works for the Australian airlines a couple of times on the phone and as I listen to her cute cute accent I just want to jump through the phone and hug her!!)

Hope you enjoy the writings! I'll try to make them happen as frequently as possible. I'll keep the random Spanish words more limited this time. :)  I'll also try to post more pictures!

B

Current Location: Salem, OR
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Enrique- you can take the girl outta Spain but you can't take the...

Thus equipped and attended, we set out on our journey with a genuine disposition to be pleased. With such a disposition, what a country is Spain for a traveller, where the most miserable inn is as full of adventure as an enchanted castle and every meal in itself an achievement! Let others repine at the lack of turnpike-roads and sumptous hotels, and all the elaborate comforts of a country cultivated into tameness and the common-place, but give me the rude mountain scramble, the roving, haphazard manners that give such a true game flavour to romantic Spain!

Current Mood: giddy

Cantabria me pone. (I was told to say that by a Spaniard... never trust a Spaniard)

We arrived back here in Cantabria on Thursday... weather not so great but the company- FANTASTICA! My dear friend Rosana was at the airport waiting for us as well as an Italian friend of hers (and now of ours) named Francesca who had also arrived on the same flight from Rome. We went to Rosana´s house and ended up spending the entire afternoon eating, drinking, and talking about everything under the sun at her house. Probably the most bonito moment came from Marissa (Rosana and Jorge´s mom) when she walked into the room and heard all of us girls talking in Spanish and said ¨ Wow... mira... from all different parts of the world with different languages and look how you all understand eachother¨ ´That comment sums up right there why learning a new language can open up a whole new world for someone. A WHOLE NEW WOOOOORRRRRLLLLLD. A dazzling place we never knew!

Yesterday Karyn and I made fajitas in the piso. So good.... man we may not know how to perfect the Spanish cafe con leche but we sure can cook a meal!  We then went on a mini cantabrian tour... visited the Altamira cave museum, a pretty little town called Santillana del Mar (in my opinion... one of the cutest towns in Spain), and shared great convo over a cocacola in Comillas. Also showed Karyn the giant palace house where they filmed the movie ¨The Others¨ with Nicole Kidman. Last night we took in a ¨bit¨¨ of the nightlife in Santander. (Again, I wore the highest heels ever and was regretting it after one song of dancing.) Was a fun night... I´m glad I was able to show my friend an authentic Saturday night out in Spain... but I´ll leave the details for the benefit of our friendship and inside jokes.

Today was perfect. Awoke and went to the family´s house for lunch. The food never stopped coming but the highlight was the giant dish of paella that we all shared together. Spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying one another´s company in a small pueblo up on the top of a mountain. I feel so fortunate to be accepted into such a large, joyful, spirited Spanish family with open arms. Life here is so family oriented... the pace is much slower which makes the intimacy grander. What did I do to be blessed with such an experience? I hope I can share the same with someone else in my own country at some point in my life.

In much sadder news, I leave in 2 days. (or perhaps this is happy news for you, and if it is... Tally Ho!)  I´m sure there will be one more entry or two as a summary in the days to come but for the most part, the Europe 09 adventure has come to its conclusion.

¨Los cuarenta principales¨- Jorge, Karyn, Breezy.

Cantabria me pone.

Bri

Current Mood: touched
Current Music: PS I love you in Spanish on TV

ELLEN!!!!!!!!!! hi! READ ME!!!!

Hola todos!

Well I can publicly announce that we´ve made it back to SPAIN safe and sound! Yay!

We left Firenze on Tuesday morning. Spent the morning and early afternoon switching trains, attempting to speak Italian and trying to figure out exactly what we needed to do in order to arrive in Cinque Terre. We stayed in the cute small enchanting town of Vernazza and walked up what seemed like 500 steps with our giant backpacks (mine gained 4 pounds after Florence, I love shopping yes I do) in order to find where we would be staying for the night. What we found was such a treat! Our own little two story apartment with a upper terrace balcony and ocean view. Praises to Jesus! We had very little time to soak up the beauty of our sleeping arrangements however, because as soon as entered we changed into our sneaker kicks and ventured out to hit the trail!

(For those who don´t know, Cinque terre are 5 small villages along the Meditteranean connected by many hiking trails. I did the entire ocean view hike two years ago, 8 miles... hard stuff! But oh so worth it as the views are breathtaking and the end of the hike feeling is exhilerating! I highly recommend it)

Karyn and I enjoyed ourselves singing along the trail, stopping to take pictures and huffing and puffing together through the hillsides. I originally had the goal of smiling and saying ¨ciao¨ in a really friendly voice to every group of hikers that passed us going in the opposite direction, but quickly lost steam and ended up only having enough energy to wipe the sweat off my own forehead. We also took the Ferry to take pictures from the ocean perspective. (A new experience for me, also highly recommended!) We ended the evening by sharing some vino and bruschetta and watching the sunset and other Italians doing the same. Spent the rest of the evening from our Terrace, sharing a great view, more vino, a pizza and some great heart to hearts. K and I are bonded for life now. I´d take a bullet for her, basically. Who would´ve thought that my student teaching year would lead me to a mentor teacher who would turn into a Godsent great girfriend? I´m blessed!

The next day we headed to ROME. Now for those of you who know me well know that this is probably one of my least favorite cities to visit. I wish my appreciation was greater though, because I do realize that this is a city most want to visit in their lifetime and don´t want to take it for granted that I´ve visited as much as I have. We didn´t get in until the sun was setting though so we decided that we had to do AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE that evening. And boy golly gee... did we ever! Visited the Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Colliseum and every sketch street and bus stop in Rome that you could possibly imagine. By the time it was the hour to return to our hotel, the metro had shut down, and the only bus running was a night line that was quite confusing to figure out. We ended up getting lost three times. The third time we ended up on the wrong side of the train station, walking along the railroad tracks and decided if we should go through the scary dark tunnel in order to reach the correct side of the station. We ended up doing so, and I said a prayer the entire time and held my breath. So you may be asking how we ended up getting home after all that work? Well, we did what we should´ve done in the beginning... hailed a cab. Pitiful. Mom, are you reading? I hope not.

On this Rome note though, traveling this past month has been a great reminder to me that the majority of the human race really is good at heart and have the intention of helping one another. I´ve observed a lot of that during my time here. Someone giving up their seat on the bus to another, people trying to give directions to someone who doesn´t speak their native language through body language, a waiter taking a break from his shift in order to escort two very lost Americanas to their correct bus stop. It doesn´t matter where you´re from, who you are, or where you are... you can encounter wonderful, genuine people in every part of this world. I strongly believe that and it makes my heart smile when I see examples of it in my daily observations here in Europe.

I shall update on our first day in Cantabria in a later post. My fingers hurt from typing this beast sized entry. (Bring on the arthritis!)

¨You can´t imagine all the mountains we´d move if we loved a little harder¨ - Line from a country song playing in the background.

Breezy

Current Mood: good
Current Music: Chuck Wicks... Karyn just switched it to Enrique. Bless her.

Hi! Hi! Hi!  HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

Well, it°s time to recap Firenze! Here we go...

We arrived Saturday afternoon. Spent the day aimlessly wondering around town and found ourselves at the giant street market. I bought 7 scarves... yes thats right... SEVEN. (days of the week people!) We went to the academia and saw nakey David (the real one by Mikey angelo). Ended the evening with a pasta dinner and receiving roses from Italian men.... when in Florence!

Yesterday we walked EVERYWHERE. The fabulous thing about Florence is that you can see almost everything on foot. Id say that Karyn was my date yesterday... I bought her a ride on the Carrousel (just for kicks and because shes a princess) and then we went to watch the sunset up on the hilltop in the Michaelangelo square.... following that romantic setting was a candlelit dinner for two with Eric Claptons °Tears in Heaven° playing in the background as I reached over and took Karyns hand from across the table and stared deeply into her light brown eyes... (she just got upset because I wrote hazel and she was offended because a lover is supposed to know those things) and lipped the lines of the songs to her from my side of the table. Que romantico. Oh yes, we also split an entire pitcher of red wine and I bought her gelato to top it all off as we strolled through the cobblestone streets of Florence. (And yes Ellen, we shared a bed too).

Today was AMAZING.... We did this BEST OF TUSCANY tour that lasted over 12 hours. It started off in the city of Siena, where my sister is going to be living and studying for 3 months come spring. (Girl, you are in for the TIME OF YOUR LIFE!!!) It is a beautiful city and Id almost reccomend that if you want to see Florence, you stay here and take the train in because its so quaint and cute and would be fun to get lost in (especially with a handsome bloke... wow, I think Im in a romantic mood tonight yes). Siena has a breathtaking cathedral too... and Ive seen my share of cathedrals... this ones in the top ten.

After Siena we went up the tuscan country hills to a farm house for lunch. One of the owners gave us a tour of the farm, from the olive groves to the grape vines to the GIANT WHITE COWS! Everything we ate in our 4 course meal was made organically on the farm, including our 4 glasses of vino plus refills. From the farmhouse we went to the cute midevil town of San Gimignano and walked up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down the hilly narrow town. Its said to hold the best gelato shop in the world so of course we had to sample to see if it was true. Karyn found her future husband as well.... see her blog for details. haha

The last place on our list was Pisa... my second time seeing the leaning tower which means my second time taking that silly cheesy picture where Im holding it up. (If you go to Italy with me in the future, I will fight to not have this town on our itinerary... sorry) Still good to see though.

The best part of the day came on the way home. There was a rainbow in the sky and the sun was setting. God is good and he is alive everywhere. Thats all I can say about that.

"Ummmmm is that a police siren or are those bagpipes?"  Karyn


Note to mom- A GUAPO is a handsome man normally from Spain but occasionally from other countries such as England. And I am coming home on August 11th... unless I "accidentally" lose my passport.

Current Mood: Sweaty! mmmm
Current Music: Keith Urban - Live to love another day

karygirl 

BONGIORNO!

Well as our Granada adventure has come to an end, our Italian one has just begun! Shall I recap?

We got to Granada on Wednesday night and stumbled into the same hostel that Molly, Tara, Jose and I stayed at two years ago. Great place... reasonable and in the center of the city. Granada is very famous for it's tapas. They are different here than many places because they are free with each drink you purchase and if you go to the right ones, your tapas consist of full meals and each time you order a round, your plate of tapa selection changes. Eating in Granada is VERY inexpensive. So after a few rounds of Sangria and a few courses of food, it was time for our first Discoteca experiencia together. It was packed for a Wednesday which was surprising in some ways but considering the country we were in, not really. At one point in the evening, a young man got on the microphone and pulled about 5 people up on stage with him and they started teaching latin dances to the entire discoteca. Everyone was °ZUMBA-ING TOGETHER IN THE DISCOTECA. I was in heaven.... it was like dancing the "cha cha slide" multiplied by 1000.

On Thursday, we woke up and ventured to the Alhambra palace. So gorgeous that words from this keyboard can't really do it justice. It was my second time seeing it and I enjoyed it probably even more than the first (and I'd enjoy it with you again someday if you let me). We spent all day there, took probably 200-300 pictures between the two of us.

Note/Advisory message- (Skip the following paragraph if you're getting tired of reading my writing or you don't know what the word "guapo" means in Spanish)

Funny occurance during the Alhambra was that at one point when Karyn and I were walking there were these 4 guapo men just leaning out one of the tower windows. It was such a Kodak moment that even without knowing them I waved and snapped a photo. They laughed, we walked away. Then about an hour or two later in a different section as we were walking down some steps, there stood the same 4 guapos, so of course- I snapped another picture (with K in the center!). They laughed, we walked away. Just as we were exiting the Alhambra I said to Karyn "The only thing that could make this day any better is if we ran into the guapos just one more time". We both laughed, we walked away. As we were nearing our hostel we both decided the only proper thing to do was to go have a glass of vino with some tapas... We walked into the bar and as destiny would have it, there sat our 4 guapos... enjoying their own Tapas and Cerveza! This time, we didn't walk away. We sat with them and they ended up being a pair of father and sons from England... oooooo what an accent! As Karyn and I left the Tapas bar to siesta and shower,  we decided to all meet up at the "fountain" later in the evening at 1030. Went to the fountain, no guapos. No pasa nada. Two hours later as we're in the midst of enjoying the nightlife in Espana, who do we suddenly see on the street? You gueeeessed it... the 4 guapos!  Of course they say do us "Whicheva fountain did you mean? We went to 4 different fountains!". haha, ended up spending the rest of the night chatting and cheersing with them in an Irish Pub. Each toast was either "to el destino" or "to fountains!".

I tell you what, I could marry a man from England just to listen to that accent for the rest of my life. Jodin.

So Friday Karyn and I awoke and ventured a bit through the town of Granada. We boarded our Ryan Air flight at about 5 pm en camino a Bolona, Italia! Karyn had never flown RYANAIR before and I was giddy with excitement to introduce it to her. (Ryan Air is a very inexpensive airline out of Dublin who flies all over Europe.... they're also known as "The Bus in the Sky" but should probably be known as "Lucky if you don't die!") As we landed in Bolona, everyone on the plane clapped and these little trumpet sound effect were played throughout the cabin, as if we were all just so grateful to have survived the journey. Hahahahahaha, I love Ryanair. I love metros. I love trains. I don't love cabs. I love any form of sketchy transportation apparently.

We stayed in Bolona last night in the cutest little Bed and Breakfast. It was basically like having our own little apartment in the city with a little kitchenette and living room. SO GREAT. There was a bottle of sparkling white wine waiting for us in the fridge and we enjoyed with a little Italian Opera music playing in the background. We then ventured to dinner which was an experience all in itself. Our waiter was probably about 70 years old and continued bringing us out little things with our dinner. Giant green olives, cheese, more wine that we didnt order, gelato with raspberries, and then ended the meal by taking a shot with us. I said to Karyn right before our bill came "wow, this man is good at his job. I have no idea how much we're about to pay for all of this. He only charged us for our pasta dinner and glass of wine though... I couldn't believe my eyes!!! We left him a big tip..... he planted a kiss on Karyn's lips as she left... then I knew it was my turn.... I tried to avoid it by turning my cheek but it was too late. I have officially kissed an Italian.. .and he was 75 years old. But the gelato was oh so worth it.

Speaking of Gelato, after dinner, I, being the dork that I am, asked three lads if they knew of any gelato spots open late in Bolona... (they must've thought I was crazy because I later realized that there'se a gelateria on every single corner throughout the town)... they ended up taking us to not only get gelato, but all around the city showing us the sites and explaining some of the history behind the buildings. They were very much gentlemen... students who were also studying English so I think they equally enjoyed our company as we did theirs. I enjoyed my brief hour I spent with them.

We're now in Florence! I love this city and am so excited to be here. Will be updating on the adventures in a future post. Pace yourself!

"We've search the entire city  looking for you two! Did you know there's more than just one fountain in the city of Granada?"     -The Four Guapos.

 

Current Music: Heart and Soul - Hewey Lewis

Hello again!

Glad to say I´m safely sitting next to the one and only KARYN EPLEY in our hostal here in Granada, Spain. Ode to joy!

We left Cantabria Monday and arrived in Madrid around 8. Found the BEST hotel right in the center that fit our needs perfectly. (Mom, I saved a card of it so you and Pa can stay there when  you visit, it´s perfect, safe and reasonably priced) As we walked out of our hotel, we suddenly heard music coming from a couple streets down in a plaza. But this wasn´t your typical bar music or accordians being played, this was like... WHOA TUBULAR DUDE! CONCERT music. Turns out it was a very famous Spanish singer- Rosario del Moral just putting on a great show right there in the middle of the plaza at sunset. Very cool! After that, the four of us, Mario, Jorge, Jamie and myself (cita doble¿?) went to this restaurant that some of Mario´s local friends had recommended. It was underground and very authentic Spanish food... we shared everything from the bottle of vino tinto to the salad to the ice cream desert. Oh how I do love how the Spanish live.

Monday night ended with going out with some Madrilenos (locals from Madrid) that Jorge´s cousin, Sandra, introduced us to. Four of them worked for the Madrid police department... needless to say I was in good manos.  We went to this little havana bar where they served very tropical-like beverages. Both Sandra and her roommate Paloma are gems. I could easily see myself having a great real girlie friendship with the two of them. I told Paloma when I left that I wanted to try to squeeze her into my giant mochila... she´d probably fit if I left my boots in the piso. Hmmm

So Tuesday, Jamie, Jorge and I were off for our sightseeing adventure, starting with a touristy stop at Starbucks. We found ourselves in the parque de buen retiro... which is pretty much the Central Park in Spain. We got one of those little row boats and took it out onto the lake that sits in the middle of the park. Jamie and I tried to row... Jorge ended up taking over. Go figure. After that we raced to the airport to pick up Karyn... still getting stuck in an atasco (traffic jam) and arriving 30 minutes late only to see Karyn with a look of panic waiting for us already by the time we arrived. Let me tell you though... Miss Epley is an ANIMAL. Even after all that traveling she was ready to go, do, see..!!! We went and had a paella and sangria lunch followed by the Prado museum. (I, being the budget traveler that I am, researched that it´s free between 6-8pm... keep that in mind if you ever go). We then said goodbye to Jorge and were off to dinner with Mario and 5 of his guy friends who were from Madrid. They were hilarious and all so different and magical in their own way. After dinner I had to say goodbye to my dear friend Jamie, as she was leaving to catch her flight just a couple of hours after dinner got over. (1am). Karyn and I finished our evening with a glass of the good stuff in the plaza next to our hotel and called it a night.

Wow, can I write? SI SE PUEDE!

SO TODAY! Another cafe latte? CLARO. After that it was off to another museum- The Reina Sofia (this one you can go in for free at a certain time on the weekends, FYI) This was a museum I had never been in after all my stays of Madrid and I was stoked about seeing the famous ¨GUERNICA¨ by Pablo Picasso. (I snapped some pics!) I also saw a couple of works by DALI that I had taught my students about this past year... so that will be fun to have for my future classes. After another great long lunch in the PLAZA MAYOR, Karyn and I were off on our train ride to Granada. The train announcer lady had a very seductive voice... I´m not sure what her deal was, but everyone in our train car was bonding with laughter about it.

So here we are in Granada! This is one of my favorite cities in Spain and I couldn´t resist coming back for a second round. I can´t WAIT to see the Alhambra tomorrow for the second time in my life... I plan on photo-ing every nook and cranny.

¨Hoooooooolaaaaaa. Ahora estamos en camino. Que se disfruten su viaje en Renfe. Graaaaaciiiiiiiaaaaas¨
-Train announcer.

Current Mood: weird
Current Music: Daria- La 5 Estacion

Buenos dias o tardes o noches... depending on when you find yourself reading this entry.

This weekend was a whirlwind and I can´t believe it´s already passed me by. Yesterday I spent the day at the beach with Jamie and Jorge. We walked at least 3 or 4 miles i the beautiful weather along the coast and found ourselves at the carnival. I couldn´t help but think to myself ¨¨Well if I ever had to raise my children in Spain, at least they´d have the state fair experience¨. haha Santander was packed last night and the plaza canadio where everyone gathers was overflowing with the most amount of gente I´ve ever seen there in my life. Jamie and I were again seperated by our different groups of local friends so I found myself in a group of about 8 spaniards... such good conversation. Being in a group of a bunch of people who don´t speak your first language teaches you to be a better listener and observer... which I did a lot of last night.

Today I had what I would probably say was the perfect day in Spain. Slept in and went to have lunch with Jorge and his entire family. Let me assure you... if you want to test your second language skills.... go sit down at a table with 10 people to share a meal and try keeping up with all of the conversation and jokes going on at the same time. Whew! If you want to test your manners.... go sit down at a table wth 10 people to share a meal that consists of seafood and eggs... the two foods your stomach just doesn´t seem to settle with. I did my best though, making fun of myself enough so that everyone was laughing with me. Marisa even had to show me how to open and eat the little lobster, wow Americana Breezy get a hold of yourself.

Sidenote: whoever invented the three dot thingys ( ... ) is probably my favorite person in the world!

After lunch and siesta it was time for DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN- CANTABRIAN SAFARI!!!!!!!!!!!! No really.. I can´t really think of a better way to describe it. Jorge´s tio was so pumped to take me in his 4X4 jeep up to the peaks of the Cantabrian Mountains. (You can only go in car that far if you´re originally from the small town the mountains stand on, so technically 2 of the 4 of us were up there illegally). I had fun getting out and walking among the vacas, caballos and toros, surrounded by green everywhere. I´d even give myself an A for dodging the vaca caca in my purple flats. The road up and back down the mountain though was an adventure all in itself... broken cobblestone roads with barely enough road space for one vehicle. I was definitely gripping that small safety handle thing that hangs above the door of the car and saying a little prayer for my life at various times throughout the excursion. haha! The perfect Spain day ended back safely on flat land, once again surrounded by the family, playing with 8 month old Claudia and eating ice cream. I feel so lucky to get these little behind the scene moments of Spanish culture. (Tia, me recuerda de mi tiempo con vosotros en Argenitina). It was the perfect Sunday in Spain.

Tomorrow morning we´re heading to Madrid. I´m sad to be saying adios to my dear travel partner Jamie but very excited to welcome Karyn, who´s new to this land I love so much. (I don´t think she´ll be disappointed.) From Madrid it´s southern Spain and Italy for about a week and a half so my entries may be coming at a slower rate. (sorry mom!) 

I enjoy all of your comments so much! 

Hasta ahora-
B
 
 

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Nickelcreek- This side

AH! The coolest thing is happening as I write this right now! The church bells are ringingalingalinging so much outside here in corrales and the only other sound I hear is a child laughing and playing with what sounds like a ball. What a great combo of sonidos that is!

So. Life.

The Thursday night bbq that was planned ended up getting cancelled, which in my mind felt very normal for that to happen in Spain. I feel that in the US we are very much more planned out-  itinerary oriented. One thing that Spain always does to me is it helps bring out the ¨go with the flow¨ persona that lives somewhere deep and hidden inside me when I´m living my daily routine in Oregon. Both are good to have... I think a mixture is necessary. The BBQ turned into going into Santander for a look at the night life. Right now it´s SEMANA GRANDE so there´s fiestas and concerts going on every night of the week. The concert for Thursday? A U2 cover band! I tell you what, they were really really REALLY good... from Italy.... it was funny to see that when the lead singer spoke in Spanish to the crowd he had to look down at his little cheat sheet on the stage. :)

Yesterday Jamie and I awoke and found ourselves at the community swimming pool once again enjoying the sunshine on our vacation. After that, she left to go see a bull fight (i think?) with some of her local friends who only had one ticket left. I stayed.... drank wine in the piso.... went on a run... got lost on my run... found my way home eventually... cleaned... took a siesta.... read a little.... took time to straighten my thick wavy mess that some refer to as hair... it was probably the perfect day of solitude I could´ve asked for. Shhhh don´t tell anyone but I also went down to the LUPA and got some tortillas, salsa, refried beans, etc from their international section and then made myself a GIANt BEAN AND CHEESE BURRITO! (Lets make that our lil secret, k?)  

So after my day of Brianne Bliss, Jorge and Ruben came to the piso and we went into town together...  ahem well we tried to go into town. It was bumper to bumper traffic when we got ito Santander. We weren´t even moving, it was crazy!!! I´ve never seen my sweet beach town so packed wih people before. But then the coolest thing happened, FIREWORKS on the beach. So everyone that was stuck in traffic just turned off their engines, got out and enjoyed the show. So Spanish... hurry? what hurry? Ruben put the top down of his beautiful convertable audi and we sat and enjoyed. It´s one of those moments that I think I´m going to look back on and love.

My feet hurt from dancing the night away in my heels. Blast you tacones. Why must you be oh so cute yet oh so uncomfortable?

¨Do you think the bulls will want to eat me if I wear a red dress to the event?¨ - Jamie

B

Current Mood: impressed
Current Music: Natalie Walker- Colorblind

The following is a joint-effort journal entry brought to you by the infamous Jamie Fay and Brianne Ashley complete with bullet points. Que lo disfrutes-
 

·Dads pushing strollers during a leisure ¨paseo¨ 

·You can buy a glass of some of the best wine around for less than 2 dollars.

·Carpe diem is apparent in many moments of the day.

·Mullets and Speedos.

·Everything is smaller. The cars, the people, the coffee cups, the restaurants, the houses.

·People know how to dance... and without bumpin and grindin.

·Trains.

·Public Transportation in general.

·Kids can be found on their tricycles in the bar with their parents.

·The party doesn´t stop till the sun comes up. (guess who??? lol)

·24 is considered VERY young. No one is in a rush to grow up... never never land anyone? (Second star to the left, straight on till morning.)

·Sangria

·Loyalty

·History

·Olive oil

·Kids are still kids.

·Kids are still kids but they tend to love strollers until a very late age.

·Siestas.

·Guitarras en la calle

·It can make two american girls write silly bullet point blog posts like this one... all in the name of love for Spain.  

·Experiences that result in the writing of a romance novel. Not joking... be looking for it on the bookshelves of your local Barnes and Noble.... translated into 4 languages.

·2 besos. SIempre. 



 

Hallo!

Well, I made it out of France without smoking a cigarette. I always thought that if I were to ever try a cigarette that it would have to be in Paris... mission unaccomplished. But knowing my addictive personality, it´s a blessing that I had no desire.  Jamie... another story. haha Jamie´s claim to fame has been ¨I´ve salsa´d with a Spaniard, drank with an Aussie and smoked with the French¨

We made it safely back to Santander and have just been relaxing in the piso. Jamie and I have both been pretty sick... probably due to not sleeping sufficiently and sleeping in the same bed together. On Sunday night I had  fever of 102... (sorry Mom, didn´t tell you earlier... didn´t want to scare you... ) I then thought it would be a good idea to read the book ¨The shadow of the wind¨ alone in my hostel room.  Now ¨Shadow of the Wind¨ is sort of a thriller story set in Barcelona, Spain in the 1940s just after the war. It was probably not the best thing for me to be reading alone in a big city while I´m trying to break my fever. haha... but it´s funny when I think back on it now.

In other news, I found out that the word ¨zumba¨¨does not mean the same thing in Spain Spanish that it signifies in the US. Where as ZUMBA is my new favorite form of dance aerobic exercise in the US, in Spain, ZUMBA means a different form of exercise... if you catch my drift. Moral of the story.... I´ve stopped prancing around Spain shouting ¨¨I´m going to move here and teach ZUMBA classes!!¨ I´m hoping this will keep people from giving me weird looks on the calle.

Not much else for now... better go get ready for the evening ahead. Tonight all of my Spanish friends and family are hosting a Barbacoa for Jamie and I. I can´t wait to hang out with everyone all at the same time! Now we just need to find face masks to wear that match our outfits so we don´t infect everyone with our illness.

¨Jamie, no matter what you´re not allowed to show this to your mother. I don´t care how close you two are.¨ -Brianne

Special note for dad: Thank you for taking care of my bank stuff! Love you!

Special quote for dad from Jamie:

¨I just think back to what your dad´s van said on the back of it, and then I don´t feel so bad.¨

Breeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee zy

Current Mood: energetic
Current Music: David Bisbal- llorare las penas

BONJOUR from my very expensive internet usage in...

PARIS, FRANCE!

Wow, what a trip this has been. I think I should probably write a book on how to see all of Paris in one day... including costume changes for both day and night eiffle tower photo shoots. haha. Let's see if I can start from the beginning... I've gotta hurry though, this is one spendy journal update!


Jamie and I took a train from San Sebastian to a little town called Hendaia. We stopped to eat there and I really couldn't tell if I was in Spain or France. I turned around one corner- Spanish, the next... French... (I thought of a friend of mine who would have LOVED this town...) So finally I asked the waiter (In Spanish, not French) Um, excuse me I have a question... What country am I in anyway? Turns out I was in France but was only 20 kilometers or so from Spain. Ah HA! It was a fun place to stop and have a meal.

From there we rode a train to Paris. Jamie and I sat with a nice lady on the train ride who told us of all the places she's lived and all the languages she speaks. I'm always in awe by how much more cultured and educated people I meet in Europe seem to me than myself. I get envious mostly.... then inspired.... then back to envious.

After spending about an hour or more walking around Paris with our bags trying to find our Hotel, asking at least 3 frenchmen for help, we were in! The hotel we are staying in is a TREASURE of a place. It's so so so so so cute and in a very safe part of town. Not centrally located and no shower curtain, but hey, who needs a shower curtain or door anyway? I'm in Paris!!!

We went to dinner last night and ended up staying about 3 hours. No real surprise there when in Europe. We closed the little cafe down and sat and chatted with our waiters after they were off their shift. Good conversation about the world and people. One man named Axel who was French but has lived in England, the US and Spain said something so true that I'll probably never forget last night. He was explaining how when you've lived in other places of the world and actually been a part of another culture, it changes you completely and makes you a different person with a little mixture of every piece inside of you. He said "When someone asks me where I'm from, I don't even know what to say to them. I'm not completely French, or Spanish, or English. I just want to say 'I'm from earth' " . That's cool. (Then I preceded to pretend I was an alien and said "YOU EARTHLING" because that's what Brianne does during deep conversation)

Today Jamie and I awoke and went straight to see the sights. We got on one of those hop on, hop off bus tours since we only have a day here. I was last here when I was 12... I definitely have a different perspective of it now. We had a great time seeing everything and taking many photos I'm excited to share with you all. Had lunch in a quaint yet spendy cafe.... My favorite food I've tried in Paris? The mustard. Weird huh? Had Creme Brulee too as you can see from my subject, but it didn't hold a candle to the dijon mustard. mmmmm

So after being on foot all day there was only one thing left to do- SHOP!!! Interesting enough, I think my fashion style changes from country to country. In Spain I am drawn to bright colors and wild prints. Here I only made purchases of pink, frilly, girly lacy  ooo la la things. Perhaps this is the influence from what is sold here or perhaps it's just my own stereotypes of what is French and what is Spanish as far as style and colors. I'm thinking the latter.

Tonight we walked down by the water at night and caught the very last boat cruise from 11 to midnight. It was beautiful. Seeing everything lit up at night and listening to Frank Sinatra on my ipod thinking all the while "Someday my prince will come". haha The beautiful romantic evening was soon interrupted by a frantic run to make the last metro ride before it shut down for the evening. I have too much fun disecting metro maps... I think Jamie wants to strangle me sometimes for always wanting to do things the tougher and cheaper way... especially when that way involves sketchy underground tunnels. Me gusta!

Bueno, I think that brings me to the end of my Paris France update. See you again in Espana!

Jamie: "Every jerk on the train scares me like turbulants scare me"
Brianne: "Yeah it's scary. I don't really know how often trains fall off the tracks??"
Jamie: (looks at me with a death stare and then cracks up laughing)

B

Current Mood: loved
Current Music: Michael Buble- Lost

Hello from my hostel in SAN SEBASTIAN!

Well as the fin de semana come to it´s ¨fin¨, I´m trying to reflect on what has happened. Friday night was a night out in Santander. I found myself hanging out with three Spanish amigas... they were guapa and rubia and taught me a lot about the hombres in Espana. I enjoyed drinking sangria with them and pretending we were best friends that went out together all the time. Yesterday, Jamie, Jorge and I drove a little over 2 hours to San Sebastian. I have never been here and I absolutely love it. It´s a little bigger than Santander and the beach is very famous for surfing. Kind of reminds me of a mixture between Santander and Barcelona. It´s also in the region of the Basque Country, who have their own language and many want to be a seperate country from Espana. I saw lots of political signs today and tshirts that were basically making fun of Spain... interesting. The great thing about Europe is that you meet so many people from so many different countries, especially in a city like this. Australians, Germans, Norwegians... it´s a beautiful melting pot in the big cities of Spain.

We stayed in a pretty nice hotel last night that looked out at the beach. It was a bit expensive for my travel taste but between three of us, no pasa nada. I can tell I´ve been away from Spain for too long when I really can´t handle the fiesta. By 2 am I´m ready to return and sleep when the majority are just finishing up eating. It was still nice though, we kind of just walked around to the little bars and ordered tapas and rioja. I love la vida here. (Have I said that enough?) I love la vida here.

Today was a great day, went to the beach which was FILLED with people... some with swimsuits, some with speedos, some with nothing. I am learning so many new words in Spanish and it makes me giddy. Today I had fun speaking with Jorge in Spanish in different English accents- England, Southern, Valley girl. Too funny. I then asked him to speak in Spanish with my accent... ewwww not good. Necesito mejorar. Especialmente por ser muy parecido a lo de ¨Valley girl¨

I saw a dog fight happen in the street. The two Spaniards ran to their dogs to seperate them. It was interesting to see them interact afterward. The man with the smaller dog was pissed, the man with the bigger dog was so apologetic and wouldn´t stop saying ¨lo siento, eh¨ I´m not sure why I just felt the need to write about this, but I did. Gracias.

Tomorrow we´re catching the train to Paris. Oh dear... so excited and a bit nervous!

Love you Mom, Dad, and Sister. Oh who am I kidding? Love you all!!! And I love your comments.

Jorge-  ¨Que tal estas?¨
Yo ¨Bueno por lo menos ahora puedo caminar¨
Jorge- ¨Si...  esto es algo importante¨¨


I love la vida here.
B

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Sheryl Crow