Canary Islands

Hello hello friends,

So after 2 long, hard weeks of midterms, the university was nice and gave us Thursday and Friday off of classes for a "winter break." So Megan and I decided to go to the Canary Islands, more specifically Gran Canaria. Why not go somewhere warm for winter break right? Our flight left late Thursday night so we had all day Thursday to just chill. We walked around Sol and went shopping. It was a fun day, just walking around the busy streets. We also got some churros and chocolate before heading back for dinner. We had a nice meal then headed to the airport to catch our flight. When we went to go get our boarding passes stamped at the ryanair check in, we saw on the screen last call Gran Canaria. So obviously we started freaking out because we thought we calculated the time wrong (this whole military time thing is not enjoyable) and were going to miss our flight. We sprint from the counter through security and then look at the screen to find our gate number, and then we realize that we did have the right time and we had over an hour until our flight left. Stupid ryanair just posted last call for nothing. So that was our little travel scare for the trip. We boarded our plane safely and reached the beautiful island. We took a taxi to our hostel, which had an interesting set up. There were 2 bedrooms (ours was a little bit bigger than the size of a closet) and those 2 bedrooms shared a bathroom, kitchen and common area. So it wasn't too bad, although they did not have any computers which kind of sucked. But to make up for it, it was a 30 second walk to the beach, so we couldn't complain.

Las Canteras

Rocks on the beach

After a good night's rest, Meg and I got up and had a nice breakfast at the hostel. Then we walked down to the beach to check it out. We walked along the shore and picked up sea glass for a long time. I now have an extensive collection. Then we laid out on the beach and read/relaxed for a few hours. I could lay on a beach all day and listen to the sounds of the waves lapping against the shore. It is the most serene experience. Then we went up to the boardwalk and went to a nice little Italian restaurant for lunch (for an island owned by Spain, they sure had a lot of Italian!). I got 4 cheese macaroni (I miss it a lot) and we split bruccetta. It was yummy. Then we went and got some gelato. It was delicious. Then we headed back to the beach for some more relaxing. After an hour or so, the sky started to get really dark. So we packed up our stuff and walked along the boardwalk. I bought a ring and bracelet that is made out of volcanic rock. We also bought some other little touristy things and once it got really stormy, headed back to the hostel to hang out a bit before heading back out for dinner. We just stopped by this little pizza place and hung out there for a bit.

Sandcastle

Sand sculpture

Palm trees

Gelato

New ring

bracelet

Meg and me

In the sand

Cloudy

On the boardwalk

Boardwalk

After dinner, we walked along the boardwalk, looking at all of the different stores and places. I enjoyed looking at the beach the most beach the shoreline looked beautiful with all of the building lights illuminating it. After walking up and down the boardwalk, Meg and I walked along the beach for a while and picked up some more sea glass. We also were having fun goofing around. Then once we got tired of that, we went to a bar and order some strawberry daquiris. Except they tasted like cherry flavored candy, so I'm not sure how that worked. But we finished those up and headed back to the hostel for some rest. Chilling in the sun all day can take a lot out of a girl!

Night time

Again

Mural

Drink

The next morning we got up and had some breakfast and headed out for the day. While we were walking along the boardwalk the night before we noticed a lot of surf schools. So we decided to check it out and see if it was too pricey because surf lessons sounded cool. And lucky for us, they were way less than we expected! So, yes everyone, this clumsy girl learned how to surf. Well sort of. I was given a 2 hour lesson on how to sure with our awesome instructor Ole. The course was supposed to be in Spanish, but luckily he spoke English. That helped a lot. He was very comical which made it all the more fun. Sometimes I would be afraid to try to get up so I would just stay laying down on the surfboard scream and one time he said to me "Who is that guy that lives with the apes and swings from tree to tree?" and I said "Tarzan?" and he said "Yes Tarzan. Is that your Tarzan scream?" He was a funny dude. But he did teach me the mechanics of surfing. I think my problem was I tried to do everything at once instead of going step by step. And that I have terrible balance. But I did get up a few times, although I feel over a couple seconds later. The two hours went by way too quickly for me, however my body was thankful. I now understand the phrase beat the snot out of someone. I literally got beat up by the ocean. The worst I have to say is a tie between my bruised knees, the burning salt water up my nose and my hand (I thought I broke it for about 5 minutes). But alas I am alright, I only feel like I tried to beat up a brick wall. Overall, it was definitely worth it though. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. And now, with a little more practice, I will be a surfer chick in no time! (Check back later for pictures- I'm waiting for the people to put it on their website so I can download them).

Surf school!

After surfing, Meg and I went and got some mediocre smoothies but I did not care because I was famished. Then we went and took a nap before heading back to the beach. We went and got a late lunch/early dinner type thing, then had a nice little photo shoot on the beach.We just had fun playing in the water and the sand as we walked across the beach. Then we headed over to a big shopping mall. I actually found a couple things, which rarely happens, so I am a happy camper. It was a little bit chilly when we left, so we went back to our hostel and changed our clothes. We went and got some more gelato and walked around the beach/boardwalk are. Then we stopped and ate a few tapas before heading back to our hostel and just having a nice chat before heading off to bed.

In the water

Walking

So graceful

:)

Walking

My favorite

Beautiful beach

Surfers- me one day

Beach

Names in the sand

View from the airplane

We left super early so we would not miss our flight, and this trip went over without a hitch. It was a nice relaxing trip back to Madrid and I've just been lounging all day. My cousin Rob, who is studying in the Netherlands, gets here on Tuesday with some friends so I am looking forward to seeing him. I miss home and my family so it will be nice to have some family around. I'll update in a little while.

Love,
Ash

Random happenings

Hello everyone,

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile, I've been busy with midterms. Last week I had 3 midterms on Wednesday, 1 on Thursday and my last one was today. I think they went decently well. I know I got a 100 on my Theology midterm which makes me happy. School here is different. I am finished with my homework every day before I even go home. It's weird. And they don't really have a lot of tests. Which makes me nervous because that means I need to do well on the few I have. I think I prefer a lot of little grades, it takes off a little bit of pressure. But that's life. It is what it is. (See friends- I'm less uptight, although grades still freak me out a ton and are very important).

But this past weekend was fun because our friends Katie and Heather (who we visited in London last weekend) came with their friend Kayla to visit us. It was fun showing them around Madrid. Also it was carnival and there were a ton of strange/cool costumes and acts running around Madrid. And it was nice to have a weekend where we weren't traveling. As much as I love seeing all these places, traveling can take a lot out of a girl! I am still exhausted. But we basically showed them the main tourist points (and not so tourist points) of Madrid.

After picking them up at the airport and bringing them to their hostel, we headed out in search of food. We went to sol because that's the central part of Madrid. We ate a generic sandwich shop, then walked all over sol. We started at La Plaza Mayor, where we saw some Spanish boys singing. We stopped to watch them because they were actually pretty good and they gave us flowers. :) Then we walked in and out of touristy shops where I bought some gifts (still have a long way to go with those, but I'm making my way through my list). We then went and got some yummy nutella crepes and met up with Becca and Hannah. We then walked over to look at the palace and the palace gardens. We showed our new friends our favorite rope park by our apartment, then went back for a little nap before dinner/going out.

Plaza Mayor with bubbles!

Singing

Flowers

We met up with Katie, Heather and Kayla for dinner. We went back to sol to walk around and figure out where we wanted to eat. We ended up at Meg's and my favorite local bar (which turned out to not be so local because I saw someone from school there) for dinner and drinks. I attempted to order a pitcher but didn't know what the word for it was. The waiter tried to tell me it was broken, which really confused me because I'm not really sure how their pitchers were broken. Regardless, we ended up with 4 ginormous glasses of sangria instead. It's okay, they were good. We all got dinner and enjoyed a leisurely meal because we had time to kill until we were meeting up with Hannah, Becca and Maureen to go to a club. I ordered a mojito when I was done with my sangria, and there was literally a whole mint plant in it. It was extremely overwhelming. I literally pulled a chunk of mint the size of my fist out of the glass and there was still more. It was good once I wasn't dying of a mint overdose. As we were getting ready to leave, we saw them making these pretty blue drinks at the bar and were all wondering what they were. We were about to ask when suddenly they stopped at the table, threw out some coasters and set the drinks down in front of us and said "on the house!" And then they took our picture to put on their facebook page. So that was a little exciting I guess. Then we headed out to go meet Hannah, Becca and Maureen at Joy (popular club in Madrid). We actually got in free early, but they couldn't so they ended up somewhere else. But since Madrilenans don't go out until the wee hours of the morning, we got bored and left early. I know it's lame, but one of these days I will stay out later than 2 I promise. I will pull an all nighter at least once.

Going out

Sangria

Blue drinks

Me and Meg

Saturday was another fun filled day. We went out to lunch at some random restaurant, then we went on another cable car ride, so they could experience Madrid in a different way. It was fun and I don't know why but I find the ride kind of soothing (I know I'm a weirdo). After that, we went to Sol for some chocolate and churros. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well so I went back to take a little rest while they went to Retiro Park. I met up with them later and we got dessert (I got dinner) at this place called Cafe y Te. It was nice to just sit, relax and talk until they had to leave. We said our good byes and headed home because they left really early Sunday morning.

Palace/Cathedral from cable car

River from cable car

carnival performer

Sunday, I worked on my spanish presentation that I had today (which I think I did really well on) and just lounged about. Today I had a long day of classes and now I'm planning all my hostel stuff for our spring break trip to Italy! I am very excited about that. This week I don't have classes on Thursday or Friday, and Megan and I are having a long weekend in the Canary Islands! I am super excited for some fun in the sun and I hope can get my tan on. I haven't gotten that much color here yet, but I want that to change soon (it's warming up). Then my cousin Rob is going to be here next week so I just have a lot to look forward to. I am excited for everything. And yeah that's about it. Before I wrap it up I'd just like to say thank you so much to everyone who reads this, turns out there's more of you than I ever thought there would be. Feel free to leave comments.

All my love,

Ash

London, London, London

Hello mates!

Just got back from London. This trip was a bit different, but in a good way. I was really happy because lucky for Megan and me, we have some friends (Meg's old roommates) studying in London so we got to stay with them. They are studying at Regents College, which I guess is a super rich school which is located in Regents Park, where a lot of dukes and lords live so that's kind of cool. It was really pretty. The one downside- it snowed the night we got there! I actually didn't mind though because I haven't seen snow since last winter. Favorite part of Britain- they speak english and have awesome accents!

Megan and I have decided that the universe just really doesn't want us to travel because every trip we seem to have some sort of traveling problem. We took Ryanair for the first time (a cheap ticket airline) and I now understand why they are so cheap. We didn't start boarding until the time our flight was supposed to leave. Then we were stuck in the loading tunnel for a half an hour waiting to just get on the plane. Then everyone finally got on the plane, and it took off an hour later. We also realized that the British are super uptight about security. Their airport had so many things we needed to do and Spain is so chill. And they had a very judgmental customs person. He asked us why we were there, why we were in Europe, what we were studying. When we said social work he said really? And we responded yes, then he said "have fun with that" in a super sarcastic tone paired with a judgmental glare. He was crabby. Anddd since our flight was so late, we missed our bus that took us to the tube (metro) that would take us to Regents. So we finally caught a bus and were running an hour and a half late. Unfortunately we were also having trouble getting ahold of our friends, Katie and Heather. We asked a British guy if we could borrow his phone to call or text them but it was dead. Luckily, Heather was able to get through to us. We met them at the metro station and headed over to their room. Since it was so late we just hung out and chilled. Megan and I slept on the floor (I got a mattress, Megan wrapped herself up in a cocoon).

Snow!

Waiting for the tube

Friday was really fun. We got up and had breakfast then headed out to sightsee. We first went to go visit platform 9 and 3/4 (Harry Potter) which was in the King's Cross station. I have to say it was kind of a let down. I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, but I kind of expected something grander. It was just a half of a wall- not even a real platform! The movie makes it look way cooler. But it's still cool to say I have been to platform 9 and 3/4

. Being touristy

Cool building

Platform 9 3/4

9 3/4

After that we stopped to pick up Heather's computer (it's broken) but it wasn't there. So then we headed back to Regents to get lunch in their cafeteria (thanks to Katie and Heather for basically paying for the majority of our meals). I had a sandwich and it was pretty good, but most of the food options did not look too appetizing (it made me appreciate gries food!). Trafalgar square which was really pretty. They had some fun street performers to watch too. Then we went into the National Art Gallery and that was pretty cool. I'm not a huge fan of art, but we got to see some Monet, Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, etc. After that, we poked around in the gift shop of the national portrait gallery because Kate Middleton had been there the day before. So that was fun. I bought a postcard with William and Harry on it :)

Double Decker bus!

Regents 

again

Trafalgar Square

National art gallery

again

street perform (frozen)

Me

After that we headed out for some more walking around. We went to the place the inspired Diagon Alley (more HP- they're big fans) in hopes of finding the British edition of HP but we couldn't find any! After a lot of searching we stopped for a snack at this place called Ben's cookies- and it was probably the best cookies I have ever tasted! Super delicious. Then we walked around and went to Picadilly circus, which was pretty cool. We stopped at M&M world, which was the best place ever. It's basically four floors of awesome. There was so many M&M related things, I had no idea it was even possible. We stopped at a book store to get some books (I needed a book in English because they don't sell any in Spain and I'm done with all the ones I brought and they got their Harry Potter books). Then we walked to this store called primark, which is known for super cheap stuff! I wasn't really in a shopping mood, but I did see some stuff I liked. They should really get one in the states. It was really awesome. Sadly for us, we later discovered that we literally walked right by Emma Watson. We were extremely upset when we realized this. But we went back to Regents for dinner.

M&M

so many!

M&M world

Picadilly Circus

again

Ben's cookies!

After hanging around for a bit, we went out with some of Katie and Heather's friends. They were all really nice. We went to this pub called the volunteer (which was purple on the outside- I approved), and it was pretty crowded. But we all squeezed around a little table. I tried pear cider which was actually pretty good. It was a really fun night for everyone. I got hit on by a 30 year old British guy, but he could tell I wasn't really feeling it so he started talking to me about how much Obama sucks (surprised to hear this since most Europeans like him) and how there are no good presidential candidates. It was a weird conversation. One thing though was that it was kind of weird for Megan and me though because the times are way different than Madrid. We went out at 9:30 and were back by 12:15, where as in Madrid we would just be about done with dinner at 9:30 and just going out at 12. It just shows the different lifestyles between Madrid and everywhere else.

Saturday was another eventful day. We got up and had breakfast, then went to Buckingham palace to watch the changing of the guards. I was extremely surprised by how many people were there since this happens every other day, but there were tons. It was really cool to watch though. I couldn't see everything but it was fun. And I really liked looking at Buckingham palace. I think it would be awesome to live there. We then walked toward Big Ben/Houses of Parliament (they are attached in case you wondering- I didn't know that before). We went to this little place for lunch where all the people were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. They were trying to be speedy I guess but they just looked stressed. Regardless the food was good, exceptttt I ordered diet coke and they gave me regular (which I drank because I didn't want to make a fuss). Normally, this would not be a big deal, but Spain does not have real diet coke and I'M DYING. So I was planning on taking advantage of every opportunity, but it was not in the cards for me at lunch (no worries I had diet coke twice- that will have to be sufficient until May).

Buckingham Palace

Katie, Heather, Megan

Changing of the guard

Me in front of the Palace

After lunch, we went and bought tickets to have a tour through the Houses of Parliament. We had about an hour to kill so we just looked around the area. We went and looked at Westminster Abbey (the outside) which was really pretty. I want to know why Europe has such cool architecture/buildings EVERYWHERE! I love all the buildings. I think the US should build some like it. Anyway after walking around we went on our tour. I was not sure if I was going to like it because I'm not really that into government but it was actually really interesting. It was probably one of my favorite things that we did there. We took the route the Queen Elizabeth takes when she comes to Parliament. I learned a lot and  I was actually interested for the majority of the time. Sadly, we couldn't take any pictures except in the entry way- so no pics for you guys. But the house of lords sits on red seats and the house of commons sits on green seats (in case you wondering- maybe this is common knowledge and I'm just oblivious). When we were done with our tour and trying to leave, we actually got stuck inside the gates for about 10 minutes. There was a peaceful protest going on across the street and the officers were afraid if they let people out, protestors would try to push in through the gates. They were wearing V for Vendetta masks which I thought was kind of cool (my friends and I watch that movie on Nov 5 each year). And they talked about the gun powder found on November 5th in the basement of parliament on our tour so it all kind of fit together for me. But they did finally let us out. We walked over to the bridge to look at the river and take some pictures, then we headed out to dinner.

Big Ben/Parliament 

:)

Houses of Parliament 

Westminster Abbey

Parliament

Protesters

V for Vendetta masks

River

We went to this place called Nando's, which was really good. I got a lemon and herb chicken sandwich and garlic bread and it was tasty! Then we went back to Katie and Heather's dorm room to watch a movie while we waited for their friends to get back from visiting stonehenge (little jealous- I think that'd be cool). We watched Mean Girls then headed out to another pub called the globe. But when we got there, they carded me because apparently their rule is if you don't look over 21, they card you even though the age limit is 18. So I give them the only ID I have with me which is my international student card. Apparently that is an unacceptable form of ID so they wouldn't serve me. And Megan and I were the only ones carded. I was very upset. But my friends got a few drink for me so it was all good in the end. We then headed back after a good day and went to sleep.

Like I said before, the universe does not want Megan and me to travel. So we left an hour before we had to meet a bus to take us to our airport (it should have taken 40 minutes tops to get there). Well the train we needed to catch at the tube took 30 minutes to get there. Then it kept stopping for long periods of time. So we get out of the tube stop and see the bus. So we are running down the street and it pulls away literally 30 seconds before we get there and we see that it left early. So we are really upset and another guy comes out of the hotel and we told him he missed the bus and he was nervous because his flight was even earlier than ours. We all decided to split a taxi because it was an hour away and only 60 pounds total so we thought it would be faster. Wrong. The taxi driver had no idea where he was going, turned around 3 times and was completely lost. We ended up getting to the airport 15 minutes before our gate was supposed to close. Luckily the line for Ryanair was empty so we got our tickets stamped and headed to security. Again no line luckily but as my bag was coming through the security people grab it. Great. They said they needed to check one of my liquids (I have no idea why or what they would do). Then we walked to our gate and made it on time. Our flight left a little late, but earlier than our first one. So that was my trip to London. Less touristy and more hanging out with friends, but I really enjoyed it. I definitely want to go back there. There are still a lot of things I would like to do there. That's all for now. I've got midterms this week so wish me luck!

Cheers,
Ashley