Me falta un mes

I am returning home one month from yesterday! It's a very weird feeling. I definitely do not want to leave Spain but at the same time, I absolutely can not wait to see my friends and family. And when I think about going home... I can't help but think of all the delicious food I am going to eat.

Dad, if I am not mistaken, I believe that Portillo's is one the way home from the airport. :)

Here are foods I can not wait to eat!!

- Portillo's burger and chopped salad
- Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
- Potbelly's turkey sandwich
- Graham crackers and cream cheese
- Wheat thins and cream cheese
- BBQ Ribs
- Jack's Pizza
- Shrimp dip with scoops
- Bean dip with scoops
- Everything at Rokbonki's
- Spicy salsa

There are more of course but I just woke up and I am way too hungry to continue.

10 days until the Karmell's land in Spain. I am so excited to see you guys!! :)

Copas de vino

Although I love texts, emails, gchats, facebook chats, wall posts and messages - both video and text - but nothing compares to getting actual mail. We all get our mail sent to school here to make it easier on our host families. There is a little, clear mailbox right when you walk into school. If there is anything sitting there, you can't help but look to see if it is for you. Therefore, everyone knows who is getting mail and when - there are only 24 of us. And if you have a package that is ten times better because there is a slip of paper with large writing instructing you to go to the office to pick it up. Everyone always gathers around and asks, "What'd you get, what'd you get?!" It's quite a show! Well the other day my grandma was sweet enough to send a gift for my host parents, who have taken such good care of me this semester. I am always fed, in clean clothes and reminded of the daily weather forecast. :)

My grandma's talent is no secret in our circle of family and friends. I bet she could make a fortune selling these but she just paints them to show her love and appreciation. :)

Already in a dining set display!

When I gave the glasses to my host parents and explained that my "abuela" painted them, they were ecstatic! They could hardly convey their gratitude but urged me to pass it on to my grandma.

Thanks Grandma!! You are the best and I love you! :)

Noruega

Thank goodness the package my parents sent me, which included my winter coat, arrived before I went to Norway. It was very cold there! The trip there was very long. We took an overnight bus from Granada to Madrid (5 hours) and then flew from Madrid to Oslo. We were able to exchange our Euros into NOKS when we arrived. 1 Euro is approximately 8 Norwegian Kroner (NOK). We thought Norway was off to a great start when I found this giant tiger in the square near the bus station! We were mistaken...

Rajah! :)

By the time we wandered around and found our hostel, my friend Elise mentioned she saw a change in the excellent reviews we had read about the hostel. Apparently within the last two days people had posted concerns about bed bugs on our hostel review site.  I wish I had a picture of our faces as we opened the door to our hostel rooms. Nothing looked clean and we were afraid to even touch the furniture. We all agreed to take the loss on our down payment and go find another place to stay. This whole process could have been tedious but we were lucky enough to turn the corner, find another hostel, inspect the rooms and settle in! We agreed it was probably the best decision we had made abroad. Nothing is better than sleeping in a clean and comfortable bed. :)

After we were settled we headed off to find food. We were desperate! I am very used to seeing street performers in all kinds of crazy costumes hoping to make a few euros. A popular choice is to spray yourself all one color and pose as a statue. Some are decent, but this is the best I have every seen!!

Actually thought this was a real statue

We found food but shortly realized why Oslo is one of the most expensive cities in the world. After I finished my meal I washed my hands. Then Elise offered us her last chicken wing. I didn't want to get my hands all dirty again, but I really wanted a chicken wing... What was a girl to do? Good thing I have found such great friends in Granada! :)

Molly feeding me a chicken wing :) haha

The one thing we were most excited about Oslo was the Ice Bar. Yes, it is exactly how it sounds, a bar made of ice. They are only in a few cities around the world. You have to where lots of warm clothes, they supply you with a cloak and you are only allowed to stay inside for like 45 minutes. Little did we know, the ice bar is actually remodeled two weeks out of the year in order to redecorate and create a new theme. Sadly, we happened to visit Norway right in the middle of those two weeks. When the man working gave us the news, I don't think we could have been any more disappointed. We were able to laugh (a lot) about it later though. :)

The outfit I could have worn

The guy was able to suggest a bar where we could try a bunch of Norwegian beers so we headed off. By this time the sun was going down and we started to get pretty chilly.

Hoods up!

The menu they handed us pretty much meant nothing. None of us were beer experts so we just decided to all choice 5 random and different beers so we could try each others. Mine was called Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood. I don't know why I was surprised when it legitimately tasted and smelled like firewood...

Molly, Me, Susan, Chelsea and Alex

The next morning we had a pretty early start so we could catch a boat leaving for an island with a few museums we wanted to see. Of course I had to stop and take a picture of my Dad's favorite Addam's Family character.

Thing

We got to the boarding dock a little early just to be safe. Unfortunately, I got back to excited to go take a picture at the end of the dock. Apparently there was a little black ice because all of a sudden I was flat on my back! Although a little painful, the tears were a combination of the cold wind and how hard I was laughing. :) We actually never saw the boat arrive because we were waiting on the wrong side with a small building blocking our view. Luckily, one of the tour guides circled the dock before taking off and we were able to hop on. The boat tour was appropriately named, "Hop-on, hop-off."

Freezing on a boat tour of the fjords

We visited a ton of boat/viking museums that morning. A lot of interesting stuff... but we mostly just had fun taking weird pictures. We were able to go on, in, around and above the FRAM - ship used to sail the Arctic and Anarctic regions. Supposedly the FRAM has sailed further north and further south than any other wooden boat.

Captain Kelsey

When we got back to the main part of the city stood on the dock trying to decide what to do next. My friend Molly saw a sign and exclaimed, "Look!! It says 'LAUGHTER,' let's go there!" I quickly glanced in the direction she was running off in and I yelled towards her, "Molly, that says 'SLAUGHTER!' " I don't think I have ever seen a more disappointed face. We all of course could not stop laughing. And we still are not totally sure why that sign was there. There was some sort of music radio broadcast going on, but the sign was directly in front of the Nobel Peace Center!

"Let's go there!"

Once we figured out the bus/train system we were able to go up to the Olympic ski jump. We were not allowed to go very closed because the jump is under construction for the 2011 Nordic World Ski Championships. Since the jump itself is located on a large hill, we were able to get a great view of the whole city.

Easy as pie :)

Next was my absolute favorite part of the trip. Vigeland Sculpture Park contains over 200 sculptures designed by Gustav Vigeland. I enjoy studying and learning to appreciate art, but imitating nude sculptures in funny positions is way more fun. :)

Angry Baby by Kelsey and Chelsea

We couldn't do this one without laughing.

Intense Gaze (with flat foreheads) by Kelsey and Molly

The park itself was absolutely gorgeous - especially this time of year with the leaves changing colors.

Being normal for once in Vigeland Park

On the last morning, Susan, Elise and I got up earlier than every else so we could see the Nobel Peace Center and City Hall - where the prize is given every year on December 10th. The center had a very modern of the South African Nobel Peace Prize laureates called Strengths and Convictions. After that we were shopping (mostly trying on and not buying) for winter hats and gloves, when we got a call from Chelsea, Molly and Alex saying the only bus that would get us to the airport in time was leaving in less than 5 minutes. We took of sprinting for the bus/train station (they were connected and both had buses) but failed miserably. We were exhausted and extremely anxious because we thought we were going to miss our flight. However, after we checked the bus schedules we found out that there was a bus specifically for people taking our exact flight to Madrid. We had another 1.5 hours before it left. Feeling extremely relieved, we decided to reward ourselves with McDonald's. :) I have still never had a Big Mac in America, but I have tried it in China and now Norway. Good thing I am so cultured now! :)

El gimnasio

You know the episode in almost every sitcom where the main characters get tricked into joining a gym? This happened to me in real life... haha My friend Chelsea's host mom has a older daughter that works at a gym in Granada. Chelsea was already planning on finding a gym nearby since we don't have our regular access to the ARC (me - U of I) or SERF (Chelsea - UW Madison). Her "host sister" told her to go test out the gym and to bring a friend if she was more comfortable. When Chelsea asked me, I thought to myself, "Hey, free workout." When we arrived they immediately started interrogating us about our ideal body and taking our measurements. Then they started talking numbers and giving us deals if we were to become members. Finally Chelsea interrupted and said we were supposed to test out the machines and they made it clear that was not possible and we had to decide right then and there if we wanted to join. My instincts were telling me to walk but the price was tempting and all I could think about the was incredible amount of bread and potatoes I had been eating since coming to Spain. I signed the papers and handing over my Euros.

Chelsea and I left the gym that day wondering "What the heck just happened?" but it turned out to be a great decision. We go 3 times a week - probably more when we stop traveling as much. We had no idea when we signed up that we would be getting personal trainers too! Whenever we are on the machines there is someone working with us telling us the correct form and yelling "Más, más, venga, venga, vamos, vamos!!" Translated - "More, more, come on, come on, let's go, let's go!" Its quite comical but it makes us work hard. :) We are also making new friends there. Not a whole lot of women (its an all women's gym) our age, but friends nonetheless. :)

La Isla de Mykonos

Our trip to Mykonos from Athens was off to a rough start at 6am. We woke up really early to make sure we were more than on time for 7:30am boat ride. The day before the 5 of us bought our tickets together at a travel agency. The woman who helped up put all the tickets in an envelope and handed them to our friend Niki. We all agreed it was fine to have Niki to keep all the tickets because she had definitely proved to be the most responsible over the course of the trip. She always kept us on time, had a list of things to do and directions to and from the airport and hostels. Unfortunately, somewhere between our hostel and getting out of the cab we lost 7 of our 10 tickets. Niki felt so horrible be we all made sure she knew it definitely was not her responsibility and we all should have kept our own tickets in case of something like this happening. I was really happy though that we all handled the situation so well. The tickets were not cheap but we kept a good attitude and didn't let the mishap ruin our trip. At least the ferry was not full and we were able to buy the tickets over again!

The funny thing is we did not have super high expectations for the weather in Mykonos. We had seen that is was supposed to be rainy all week and it was at the time we arrived. However, miraculously the clouds parted after we checked into our hostel and we were able to get a few hours on the beach that day.

First trip to the beach! :)

Exactly how I imagined the islands!

My two favorite things about Greece were the people and the food. Everyone was so nice and accommodating. The owner of our was the sweetest old lady with the best tips on restaurants and shops. I also tried lamb for the first time in Greece and I can't believe I have been missing out on it my whole life! It was delicious! :)

Niki and I getting ready to go out! :)

Very close to making this purchase :)

 

 

We had another great beach day on Friday and actually explored a bunch of different beaches. Probably the funniest part of the entire trip was our return from Paradise beach. We took a really long way there so we could climb a bunch of rocks and have a great view of the water. However, by the time we wanted to head back we were all so exhausted that we wanted to find a shorter way home. There were a bunch of really short walls we able to climb over - not very easily though. We figured they were all just people's backyards and we would just say we were tourists and didn't know any better if anyone saw us. When we finally started to recognize where we were, we turned the corner and saw a herd of lambs. The shortest path home would require us to cut directly through the heard and over the final wall before the street. There were standing pretty peacefully and so my friend Alex decided he could make it through the gap between a few lambs. As he approached them my friend Niki cautioned him that there were baby lamb and therefore the mother lambs were more likely to attack to protect them. He took this warning to lightly and within seconds the lambs started to charge at Alex, who was really only a few steps ahead of us. As I saw the lambs running towards us, I was suddenly filled with fear. I am not really sure if lambs can hurt you, but I wasn't willing to stick around and find out. I yelled, "What do we do?!" and Marshall instinctively screamed, "Ruuuuunnnnn!!!" We all took of running around the corner (there was one wall that was too high to climb but there was a gap). I don't think I have ever ran so fast in my life and I could hear Alex behind me say, "Don't look back!"We all hopped another wall to be safe and then caught our breath. We had a great laugh and decided there was no turning back now. We returned again to the lamb area but climbed along the wall and only had to hop inside for a second. And that is how I survived the "Attack of the Lambs in Mykonos" as we later told our friends when we returned to Granada.

 We only had a little time on the island the next day before returning to Athens. Niki and I woke up early to go shopping and see the windmills while the boys slept and then visited the same restaurant for the third time during our three days in Mykonos (they really like it). :) Apparently this weekend was all about climbing because Niki and I attempted one more wall in order to get the best pictures in front of the famous windmills.

I barely made it over... and didn't think through an exit plan

Worth it! :)

Goodbye Mykonos!

Atenas

The birthday celebrations continued in Athens the next day. My friend Niki was so sweet and asked the airlines to make an announcement on the plane. Unfortunately, after they agreed they must have forgot. She was really disappointed but I told her how great she was and it was the thought that counts. :)

After our flight was probably the first time we were lost. We got off at the wrong bus stop because we ran into our friends from the program and saw them get off the bus. Turns out they had no idea where they were going and we should have stayed on the bus for another half hour at least. Luckily we found the nearest Metro station and we were able to pick up the same line we were supposed to take after the bus, just a few stops earlier. Then after taking the Metro the wrong way, getting off and going back in the right direction, we finally found our hostel. :) We were pleasantly surprised to find that hostels in Greece are a lot cheaper and a lot cleaner than the ones we had in Italy.

Balcony of our new favorite hostel :)

By the time we finally got settled in, found some food and bought our boat tickets to Mykonos for the next day it was getting dark. We read that sunset was the perfect time to climb Mount Lycabettas and see the perfect view of Athens. Unfortunately, I don't know if my camera has a night view or not and I couldn't get a decent picture. None of my friends did either. The Parthenon was completely lit up and rose much higher from the city than any building around it possibly could. It was strange standing there and thinking about how this building was almost 2442 years old and I was 21 that day. Makes a person feel pretty small, but helps you to see the bigger picture. :)

After much needed showers (we ran up the large hill/small mountain to make it up there by sunset) we went out for dinner. We loved the gyros we had a lunch so much that we decided we wanted to try all the Greek food there was! We all ordered different dishes and shared everything. If you can see our plates, there was not a lot left over.

Birthday dinner with Brigham (left), Niki, Me Marshall and Alex (right)

Make a wish! :)

I did share my cake and ice cream with everyone, but of course I insisted on liking the plate clean afterward. :)

I wish I was joking... :)

We spent the next few days in Mykonos and returned to Athens on the final day of our trip before flying back to Spain. Luckily we had enough time to visit the Acropolis and the market in the morning. Double lucky, Sunday happens to be only day the Acropolis is free. I don't think we could have planned this day any better if we tried.

Parthenon

Love this view of Athens!

Roma

Next stop, Rome! :) After 3 nights in Venice we flew to Rome and even though we were exhausted from getting up early and flying we decided to make the most of our first day in Rome by visiting the Coliseum. We paid for a tour guide which was a really good decision. I learned so much more about the history that I did not know before. Made the experience much more real and interesting. And the tickets we bought included a second tour of Palatine Hill - the beginning of Roman history. Our second tour guide (who was English) was incredibly fascinating. You could tell by her explanations that she loved her job. When describing the people of ancient Rome entering the palace of Emperor she said, "I like to imagine myself as a little barbarian..." (in her English accent) and went on to describe the act of approaching the ruler. One of the best tour lines I have ever heard!

Coliseum!!

View of Palatine Hill from the Coliseum

It was hard to believe that in such a big city people drove by the Coliseum every day on their way to work. I can't image seeing that everyday!

 

View of Roman Forum from the top of Palatine Hill

You can see where the major road cuts right through the ancient ruins!

The next morning we had kind of a late start by the time all six of us showered and agreed on a place for breakfast. We didn't get to the Vatican until about noon and by this time the line is about 4 hours long. There are tons and tons of tour guides and their companies that come up to you and convince you to pay and extra 30 Euro to skip the line and get the tour. Since we had a good experience at the Coliseum we thought it might be worth it so we paid 15 Euro extra to skip the line but not get the tour. Well, this time it turned out to be a scam. We ended up waiting in 2 different lines to be able to cut the long line and the whole process took about 2.5 hours. Was it worth it? Still not sure but at least we were able to get in the Vatican Museum and spend a good 3 hours in there before it closed. We found out later that 6 saints were canonized that week so we might not have been "scammed" so bad if it wasn't such a busy week for the Pope. And although I didn't actually see Pope Benedict XVI, I have a plan for the next time I visit Rome (see picture below) - or I could buy a ticket in advance. 

Trying to climb the wall of the Vatican to avoid the lines

Although a lot of our day was spent standing in lines, seeing the Sistine Chapel was worth it. Obviously my camera couldn't capture its true beauty but I think I did pretty well. I overheard a tour guide telling his group we to stand to get the best picture and avoid waking up with a sore neck the next morning. He was right! All I wanted to do was lay down in the middle of the floor and gaze up at the ceiling for a while but it was so crowded everyone was already standing shoulder to shoulder. 

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

There are many museums or exhibits within the Vatican Museum. One in particular displayed all the different means of transportation the Pope has taken over the years. Not a bad ride. :)

The Pope-Mobil

One of my favorite places in Rome was the Trevi fountain. We heard it was better to go at night because the fountain is lit up and looks incredible. There are also a whole lot less people there and you are able to sit down and enjoy the view for a bit instead of spending a half hour fighting through the crowed to get the the front and make your wish. Legend says that if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain you are sure to return to Rome. I hope it's true!

Making a wish in the Trevi Fountain

You think I would have learned my lesson at the Vatican the day before but I slept late again on our third day in Rome because we were out late the night before. By the time we go to St. Peter's Basilica the line was extremely long and we decided our Trevi Fountain wishes would come true and we would go inside the Basilica on our next trip to Rome. The square was beautiful and I can only imagine what it look like inside! The first day our tour guide told us that there is a law in Rome that prohibits buildings from being built higher than St. Peter's.

St. Peter's Basilica

And to end an already amazing stay in Rome, I turned 21 on our last night there! It was fun to celebrate with the new friends I have made abroad. They were all really sweet and made a bigger deal about it for me because I wasn't with all my friends and family from home and 21 is not significant in Europe. We celebrated like we were in America though! :)

Midnight on my 21st Birthday! :)