Mama, You've Been On My Mind

As I previously mentioned, my mom came to visit me in Europe.  She managed to blog about the first half of our time together, but has left it up to me to handle the second half.  Just thinking back to our two weeks together makes me physically exhausted.  I truly do not know how we managed to do so much in such a short period of time.  Lots of cafes con leche, and our fair share of siestas.

Seeing as I am surrounded by a bunch of loco 20-year-olds on a daily basis, for which Europe is an endless playground, I figured my trip with my mother would be relaxing, easy-going, and sophisticated.  As is usually the case with any assumption I make in Spain, I was wrong.  On her first night in town, we headed to a local bar to tag-team a Jarra de Sangria Grande.  Please note the “Grande” part of in this description, as the bartender blatantly laughed at me when I ordered it the first time when he realized there were only two of us.   However, by our third visit to his place, he no longer doubted our ability to take down the entire pitcher.  It was on this first night that I should have realized that my time with Peachie was going to be nothing short of an adventure.

After spending our first week in Bilbao, we were up before the sun at the beginning of her second weekend in Europe to head to Barcelona.  We were out the door of my dorm building by 5:00 AM and were on our way to the bus station, which I have been to about a million times, as there is a bus that goes directly from the center of Bilbao to the airport.  Usually, I take a metro to the bus station, where I catch the bus to the airport.  However, since we were awake before the metros had started running, we had to walk to the bus station instead.  The bus to the airport only costs one euro, as opposed to a twenty-five euro taxi ride. I assured my mom that the bus station was not that far away, and that I could find it on foot. I have been living in Bilbao for three months and have been to that same bus station a million times, where I have always taken that same bus to get to the airport.

Forty minutes and one very unattractive meltdown later, we were in the middle of nowhere, helplessly flagging down a taxi to take us to the airport. Apparently, when mommy is around, I remember how to throw one hell of a tantrum.  What I could not remember was how to get to that stupid bus station. I was overheated, under-caffeinated, and teary-eyed.  Just get me to the airport, and get me to Barcelona –the place where dreams are made.

Upon landing in Barcelona, I whipped out my instructions detailing how to find our hostel from the airport.  We hopped on a bus that would take us to the center of the city. We were to get off at the first stop the bus made.  Well, the first stop came around and the doors of the bus did not open.  We stood there like mute babies and did not think to ask the driver to simply open the doors and let us get off.  The same thing happened at the second stop.  And the third.  I was working up a sweat, screaming about the indecency of our bus driver and the fact that his unbelievably rude decision to keep us as prisoners had taken us way off track from the route my directions instructed me to follow.  Finally, at the last stop the bus was to make, the doors opened and we got out, now completely disoriented.  It was not until our trip had ended and we were on our way back to the airport on this same bus that we realized the multiple “STOP” buttons located throughout the vehicle, with clear instructions (in English) indicating that we were to press any of the many, many buttons to alert the driver that a passenger was looking to exit the bus. 

Luckily, I learned a few things about the metro stations in Barcelona during my last visit there, and I was able to backtrack without too much added hysteria.  However, I noticed that my phone battery was blinking on completely empty, and remembered that I had not packed my phone charger.  I had plans to meet Chema for lunch and was not going to be able to tell him where to find us.  He had planned on skipping his afternoon class to meet up with us, but we had not yet set a time or place.  At this point, I was getting just slightly annoyed with the series of unfortunate events that were unfolding.  We dropped our things off at the hostel, and I declared that my only mission in life was to charge my dinky little cell phone.  I found a MoviStar phone company relatively easily, and asked to purchase a charger.  They told me that my phone was so cheap that the charger was going to be 18 euros whereas buying an entire new phone would be 19 euros.  I told them I had neither the time nor the patience to set up a new phone and to please kindly allow me to pay them whatever they wanted so long as I could avoid the wrath of Chema Voilo. Let’s just say that he did not exactly voluntarily decide to skip his class to see me, and he MAY have had to deal with just a BIT of an overreaction on my part on Wednesday night when he had tried telling me that he couldn’t easily meet up with us on this particular Thursday.  If I ended up screwing up this lunch then we probably wouldn’t be talking today.  Or ever again, for that matter.  So, I bought the phone charger, charged my phone for ten minutes, and decided to mentally erase the entire morning and start again.

Alright, Mom, it’s time to put these minor roadblocks behind us and enjoy my favorite city in Europe.  We bought a map the size of Texas and, checking the street signs to orient ourselves about six times, headed in the direction of La Sagrada Familia.  About 45 minutes later, we realized we had gone in the exact opposite direction from that which we were meant to walk.  Luckily, everywhere in Barcelona is beautiful, and we ended up in the Gothic Quarter of the city, which I had missed on my first trip and was happy to stumble across on my second one.  We then headed over to Las Ramblas to walk towards the water and wait for Chema, our tour guide for the afternoon.  We had a great lunch and walk along the beach, followed by a visit to a magic little café in the style of Alice in Wonderland. Things were turning around and I was remembering why I loved Barcelona so much.  Thanks for dealing with me, Chemita!  

This picture is awkwardly in black and white, and I'm awkwardly holding an H&M bag, but BFFs regardless.

America's Next Top Mom Model

After lunch, my Mom and I made the journey up to Park Guell in time to watch the sunset.  While that was a beautiful sight, I realized it was already way too dark for my mom to understand how beautiful that park is during the daytime.  We decided to return in the morning, and headed out to have tapas in the city.  While sitting outside in the middle of Barcelona, sharing our tapas and drinking some more of our much loved sangria, we took a few minutes to realize that this was probably one of the coolest moments of our lives.

Buenas Noches, Barcelona!

The next day, we shared the most expensive meal of our trip, AKA we went to Starbucks, and then headed back to Park Guell.  I would like to remind everyone about my previous decision to get married there, and would also like to once again reach out to Javier Bardem and let him know that he has 3 more weeks to find me in Spain. 

I miss this woman.

Pretending we are on a photo shoot.

The perfect place to walk down the aisle.

After exploring Park Guell for a couple hours, we had to head right back to the Barcelona airport to catch our flight to Rome.  I was beyond excited to go to Italy.  I brought my stretchiest pair of jeggings to prepare myself for the binge eating that I intended to do.  I was also extra excited because I had booked my mom and myself a private room at a place called Salvador Bed and Breakfast. I had never stayed at a Bed and Breakfast before!  I couldn’t wait to see our cute little room and settle in. 

We stumbled upon our B&B around 7:00 PM or so.  It was not much to look at from the outside, but I was sure it was going to be wonderfully charming on the inside.  I rang the buzzer at the front door.  Nothing happened.  Rang it again.  Nothing happened.  Huh.  What now?  It was then that I noticed an older, stout gentleman bumbling up the street towards the building.  “Salvador?” he asked, as he headed to open the door for us.  “¡Si, gracias!”  I told him, before remembering that we were not in Spain, but since I knew absolutely zero words in Italian other than “gelato,” I just had to hope that he would get the general idea.  I figured this man was just someone who lived in the building and was used to confused American tourists standing outside the door, wondering how to get inside.  He did not speak English by any means, but somehow managed to tell us that he had just finished eating dinner.  Spaghetti, to be specific.  His name was George.  Alright, old man George, that’s nice.  He took us all the way right up to the door of the B&B.  How kind!  Wow, Italians sure go out of their way to help people. 

Then, he did something that I had not been expecting.  He took out some keys and opened the door to the B&B.  Wait, are you staying here, too?  What’s going on?  He then walks up to a very messy little desk, with about a million shreds of paper strewn everywhere, and proceeds to ask me my name.  It is then that I realize that this bumbling old man is the owner of this place.  And by “this place,” I mean…his place.  His personal apartment that he is pretending to have transformed in to a Bed and Breakfast.  He sloppily writes down my passport number in a calendar (under the month of March, mind you), and takes us to our room.  It is spacious and clean, so I can’t complain.  George points to the clock, at the numbers 8, 9, and 10, and says “Breakfast.”  He then goes over to a door marked “Privado” and motions for us to knock on the door.  He proceeds to go back and point to the clock again.  We figure breakfast is beyond the doors between the hours of 8 and 10.  How cute!  The kitchen is behind closed doors to keep breakfast a surprise.  He must go through great pains to personally prepare our meals, considering we are staying in his personal apartment.  Thanks, George!  With that, my mom and I head out to eat our first Italian meal.

As we were stumbling through the streets to find somewhere to eat, we happened across the Pantheon.  Rome is the most bizarre city on Earth.  There is not just a mixture of new and old, as there is in Bilbao, but rather a striking juxtaposition between brand new and absolutely ANCIENT.  The magnificent buildings I have read about in history books my entire life are just mixed in amongst commercial shopping and dining areas.  It is so amazing, and so weird. We ended up eating on a side street near the Plaza Navonna.    I could write an epic poem describing how delicious our food was, but all I will say is, YUM.  We also came to love the owner of the restaurant (who also most likely loved my mother), and we decided that we were going to love Rome.  

The Pantheon

Vatican City

The next morning, my mom and I woke up, showered, and talked about what we might be having for breakfast.  It was 9:00, but there seemed to be no one else awake except for us.  We could have sworn George told us breakfast was anytime between 8:00 and 10:00, so we awkwardly crept up to the door marked “Privado.”  I guess we should just…knock on the door and see what happens?  My mom knocked on the door quietly.  Nothing happened.  My mom knocked on the door loudly.  We heard someone rustling about, followed by George’s shouting, “Minuto!”  Behind that door does not lie a kitchen.  We just knocked on George’s bedroom door.  He was asleep, and our knocking has just woken him up.  I feel incredibly awkward and run back to our room. 

George emerges from his room, groggy-eyed but cheerful. He points to my sock-covered feet and says, “Shoes.” What?  Why do I have to put shoes on to eat?  He then opens the door that leads out of the B&B.  Okay…is breakfast downstairs or something?  I put my shoes on and follow him.  Follow him out the door, down the elevator, out the front door of the building, down the street, around the corner, and into a café.  My hair is soaking wet.  We are in a café.  There are two cute baristas looking at me like I am an absolute idiot, and also as if they are expecting me to say something.  I don’t speak Italian, I don’t know what I’m doing here, and I look like a wet dog.  I feel incredibly awkward and run to the closest table.  George gets us two cappuccinos and 2 pastries.  He tells us not to wake him up the following day, as he will be sleeping, and now that we know where the café is, we know what to do.  So, this is the breakfast part of our Bed and Breakfast.  We are uncontrollably laughing, and I still looking like a shaggy poodle, so we down our cappuccinos and leave. 

Our day is filled with sightseeing and exploring.  Rome is by far the most touristy place I have ever been, which makes sense seeing as the entire city feels like one big museum of amazing buildings forever frozen in time.  For lunch, I was able to meet up with the BEAUTIFUL and amazing Sara Gil, who is Rebecca Drake’s roommate at Emory College in Atlanta.  Although I had never met Sara before, I had heard so much about her and had wanted to meet her for what feels like forever, so I was beyond excited to get the chance to see her…in Rome.  She took us to eat one of the best meals of my entire life, followed by the best gelato in the world, followed by a tour of the city.  She knows just about everything about Rome, and was simply the most lovely person with which to spend the afternoon.  I seriously feel like I have known that girl for years, and am so, so, so happy to have finally actually met her in person!

Mama making a wish at the Trevvi Fountain!

Sara!!!!!!! I'm so happy just writing this caption and remembering this happened.

At this point, it was Saturday evening.  Saturday, November 12^th, 2011.  I had been waiting for that day for months, for that was the day that Bob Dylan was playing in Rome.  That was the day I picked out last Spring from Dylan’s tour dates as the concert I wanted to see while studying abroad.  That day was the reason I traveled to Rome.  That day was the reason my Mom’s trip fell at the time that it did.  I was going to see Bob Dylan…in Rome.  I couldn’t wait.  There was just one little problem, that being that we didn’t actually have tickets due to an unsurpassable error with the ticketing site.  However, I have been to over 40 Dylan concerts, and I have witnessed countless numbers of people pick up tickets the day of the show.  My mom and I got at the venue at about 5:30pm, for a 9:00 show, which we figured would give us plenty of time to buy a ticket (either from the ticket booth, from someone with an extra ticket, or from a scalper).  I saw some people I recognized who I have met during various legs of the Never Ending Tour in the States.  I also met a very nice (and very handsome) fellow Californian with whom to pass the hours outside the venue.  I was so happy to be there.  I couldn’t wait for the concert to begin. 

The next 5 hours are a blur of emotion that I do not really wish to describe.  Let’s just say that at 10:30, in tears, I turned to my Mom, still ticketless, and simply said, “I’m ready to go home now.” I’ll leave it to the words of Bobby D himself to sum up how I felt that night:

“I see nothing to be gained by any explanation
There are no words that need to be said
You left me standing in the doorway crying
Blues wrapped around my head.”

We took the metro home in absolute silence.  I suddenly really missed my Dad, who I know would have found a way to get  us in to that show, even if he had to rip down the walls to do it.  When we got back to the B&B, I decided that we had to look towards tomorrow as opposed to dwelling on the unfortunate events of that night.  I took out the tickets to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum that I had bought weeks ago in preparation for our trip. The tickets were valid for 2 days.  I thought that I had purchased them for Saturday the 12^th and Sunday the 13^th, and my Mom and I had planned on visiting these sites on Sunday.  I was especially looking forward to seeing the Colosseum. I took out the tickets and read, “Validity: Friday, November 11^th- Saturday, November 12^th.”  I pulled the blanket over my head and went to sleep. 

The next morning, my Mom and I resumed speaking.  Maybe last night had not gone as we may have wanted it to, but we were visiting the cradle of Western Civilization.  We truly could not complain about anything at all.  Not one thing.  We could not have been more lucky and blessed to be in Rome together.  However, we still decided to cut our losses and scratch every item off our to-do list so as to have a completely stress-free day.  We spent the entire day shopping and eating.  It was the best decision we could have made.  We headed to the airport with our suitcases stuffed with souvenirs and our bodies stuffed with pizza.  It was a good day.  It was a great trip.  We headed back to Bilbao on Sunday night.

On Monday, I skipped the majority of my classes (school isn’t real, my life isn’t real, nothing is real) and had a picnic with my Mom and my best friends here.  I then reluctantly helped my mother pack.  Well, that’s a lie. I mostly just watched her pack and yelled at her not to leave me.  Then we went for Sangria.

My mom looks younger than my friends.

My mom left on Tuesday, and I spent the entire day in my bed, in mourning.  I had gotten so used to having her here with me, and I was just truly so sad for her to leave.  Luckily, I had spent two of the best weeks of my life with here –two weeks that I will never, ever forget.  I have so many wonderful memories with her that I will genuinely always cherish.

I woke up the next day and went to the cafeteria to have some coffee by myself.  I was still feeling very sad, especially while having my coffee alone, as having coffee with my mom is one of my very favorite things to do.  I went to my first class and came home to take a run.  I put on my left running shoe, and went to put on my right one, but there was something blocking my foot.  Something rather large.  What the heck?  I stuck my hand in my shoe and found a little package, with a note from my Mom.  She had bought for me the bracelet I had obsessed over in Barcelona but had not bought for myself, wrapped it up, and left it in my running sneaker.  What’s more, she left me a little bag with euros inside it, with directions to buy myself a matching ring.  I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.  My day was infinitely better from then on.

Highlights of my last couple weeks include eating gnocchi, eating pasta, eating pizza, eating gelato, and eating a cookie the size of my head, all in Rome.  Minor setbacks include gaining ten pounds in Rome.  One major, MAJOR setback was being flashed in Rome.  Yes, flashed.  By a man.  A man flashed me in Rome.  TWICE.  I am still having nightmares.

Needless to say, I loved having Peach here.  In three weeks from tomorrow, I will be seeing her again.  I cannot even believe that I will be moving out of here in three weeks.  We have 21 days left here…and we are going to make them count.

Are You Ready?

The past couple weeks in Bilbao have been two of the most ones fun by far, all because of the lovely Peach showing up in Spain and leaving me with some of the best memories I have made to date...here is her take on the first half of our trip together.

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I ran away to Bilbao, Spain.  (don't worry, I had to look it up on a map, too).   After ten days and nine nights on a plane I arrived to the beautiful sight of the one and only Christie Amrein waiting for me.   How I have missed that girl!  Christie greeted me with a huge smile, open arms and an extensive itinerary.

Day Number One

Morning

Arrival in Bilbao 9:55AM

Arrival to Colegio Mayor - Check In - 11:00AM

Afternoon

Lunch in the city

Walking tour of Bilbao

Coffee break

Grocery shopping

Evening

Dinner in the dorms

After dinner drink to see the city at night

A very full day.  Bilbao is a beautiful city.  Europe is so unique.... the buildings, the architecture, the scenery, the people. So cool to be in a place completely different from where I live.  It was great to have Christie show me around a city she has come to know and like so much.  Her new home.

We did a lot of walking that first day. Up stairs.  Yes, up stairs.  In a city.  So many, many stairs.  not. prepared. for. the. stairs.  whew. dying.  have to..catch... my breath.

Typical street in Bilbao

stairs

more stairs

Window in my room

amazing view from my window

Ok, see the last item on the itinerary?  After dinner drink. This elevated my already great day to a new height.  Sorry, Dad, your cosmo has been replaced.

SANGRIA.    My new love.

Day Number Two

Morning

Breakfast in the dorms

Run along the river together

Afternoon

Shopping in Casco Viejo

Picnic lunch at top of Casco Viejo stairs

Coffee stop

Shopping on Gran Via

Evening

Split:  Continue shopping or take a siesta while Christie volunteers, 4:45-6:00

Dinner (Pintxos) in Casco Viejo

I have a deficit in my brain.  Specifically, the foreign language processing center in my brain.  There is some vital synapse or collection of neurons or something that is completely missing.  This is the only explanation I have for what happened on the morning of day number two.  

The sum total of all the words I know in Spanish can fit on on the tip of a pencil.  But I was determined to pick up a few phrases on this trip.  I started to get the hang of saying "gracias" and "hola" and "buenas noches" without feeling totally geeky and self  conscious and proceeded to add "perdon"  after repeatedly bumping into strangers on the street (Spaniards do not move to accommodate oncoming people.  They just keep right on walking.  They will walk right into you.  This is a fact.  I learned it the hard way.  Thus, the need to add perdon to my repertoire).   

I was staying on the fourth floor of Christie's dorm.  She was on the sixth floor.  Each floor has a common room.  The coffee maker was located in the common room on Christie's floor.  Christie is well aware of my need for coffee first thing in the morning (bless this child) so she told me to just come up to her common room as soon as I woke up and put my coffee on...nobody would be in there.  When I awoke I was a bit disoriented.  Bleary-eyed, I grabbed my coffee and filter and headed out my door, down the dark hallway and towards the stairwell.  I didn't notice her until I was practically right next to her.  A cleaning woman.  "Hola," she said to me.  I can only blame the early hour and my faulty wiring for the words that proceeded to come out of my mouth.    "Buenas noches,"  I replied and ran up the stairs.

I would like to say this was my only embarrassing language fiasco.  It wasn't.  To my blog readers, please refer to Christie's blog post "Series of Dreams" for further examples ......http://christieamrein.blogspot.com/

Day number two was jam packed with activities including shopping in both the old section of the city as well as shopping in the new section of the city.  I, of course, loved it all.

The rain in Spain does not stay mainly in the plain.  And thus, the next couple of days did not go strictly according to plan.  However, the rain could not stop us from going to a futbol game on Sunday night, Bilbao v. Barcelona.  Totally, totally cool.  Great seats, a real live bicycle kick, an extremely close game (Barcelona scored in the last minute to tie the game) and a crowd like I have never experienced before made it a true highlight.

Day Number Four

Morning

Breakfast in dorm

Split:  Go shopping at Gran Via while Christie in class

Afternoon

Reconvene for lunch in the dorms, Christie will not be eating in the cafeteria and will instead make lunch and eat with you, 2:30pm

Survey of Hispanic Literature Class, 4:10-5:30pm

Coffee break

Evening:

Dinner in the dorms

"Go shopping in Gran Via while Christie is in class." See where it says that there? Go shopping. By myself. In Spain. Where they speak Spanish. And I, well, you know all about my Spanish speaking abilities. As well as my sense of direction abilities. So the thought of finding the metro, getting on the metro, heading in the right direction, getting off at the right stop and finding Gran Via was all a bit overwhelming. But it was on the itinerary. I had to do it. I had to step out of my comfort zone. Oh, wait, step out of my comfort zone? Sounds familiar..... Like, maybe, when I decided to train for a triathlon? I GOT THIS. And I did. It was amazing. I rode the metro (in the right direction), found Gran Via, went shopping, bought a few things, paid in Euros, and made it back home a happier, more confident woman. Yay, me, Yay, itinerary.

Day Number Five
Morning

Breakfast in the dorms

Free time while Christie goes to her first class

Afternoon

Run together after Christie's last class, 12:00pm

Lunch in Gexto (beach town)

Walk around and shop in Gexto

Coffee stop

Evening

Dinner in dorms

Gexto is a beach town on the Bay of Biscay about 45 minutes outside of Bilbao. We walked around for a bit enjoying the town then got a little lost in our effort to find a cafe for our coffee stop. It seems a young man noticed our plight and decided to come to our rescue. "Sandy," (like the song from "Grease" he told us, doing his best John Travolta imitation) was a transplant from Cuba who took us on an hour long walking tour of Gexto, telling us about all the town, showing us different sights and leading us up to by far the most beautiful spot in the whole town with an amazing view that we never would have found on our own. (ok, I have to admit, I was a little freaked out at first and had no idea what this Sandy guy was all about and what the heck he was doing and how the heck we were ever going to get away from him and was he going to follow us back to Bilbao and stay with us forever but after a while I realized he was actually just a genuinely nice guy who wanted to show us the best part of the town. Sometimes, it's just that simple).

Beautiful day at the beach

Stairs.  There's a surprise.

Sandy showed us a hidden cove

Best views courtesy of Sandy

Day Number Six

Morning

Breakfast in dorms

Run together

Split:  Visit to the Guggenheim Museum

Afternoon

Reconvene for lunch in the dorms

Split:  free time while Christie goes to her last class

Evening

Reconvene for visit to the Museo de Bellas Arstes

Dinner in the dorms

Early bedtime

"The Guggenheim Bilbao's collection spans from the mid-twentieth century to the present day, concentrating on post-war painting and sculpture in America and Europe. The collection includes key works by significant artists including Anselm Kiefer, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, and Richard Serra, whose work The Matter of Time was created to be a permanent installation in Bilbao's largest gallery."   

Ok, that didn't mean anything to me,  either.  I will confess I didn't think I was going to be that impressed by the Guggenheim, just because it's not really my cup of tea.  But I was absolutely captivated by the exhibit "the Matter of Time," by Richard Serra.  It was awesome. 

 "Mega-sculptor Richard Serra's mega-installation, A Matter of Time, opened June 8 at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. This huge permanent installation of eight bent steel sculptures is possibly the largest installation to ever be housed in a museum gallery. The work weighs about 1,200 tons, is over 430 feet in length and has taken up residence in a 32,000 square foot gallery. The eight pieces swirl and glide together, creating spaces while imposing upon the space they are in. Imposing as they may be, the sculptures invite the viewer to become participant: to explore around them, to find the spaces within, to play with sound, to stop and start at any point, to move at any speed. Because of its mazelike structure, this installation will leave different imprints on every person that passes though the experience."     (look at it on you tube).

The Matter of Time.  Blurry because the lady slapped my hand as I was taking the picture.  Clear translation in any language:  no pictures allowed.  

Why is there a ginormous dog sculpture outside of the Guggenheim?

Observations so far:


The people of Bilbao are beautiful.  No, seriously.  They are dressed to the nines at all times.  You can scour the entire city and will not find one person in sweatpants or wearing Uggs.  Young and old alike.  The eighty year old woman sitting next to us in the restaurant looked effortlessly chic with her jewels, her  blond bob and her black leather pants.  


Siestas are wonderful.


Trips to the market for warm bread quickly become a necessary activity of daily living.


Looking strangers (particularly men) in the eye and smiling is strictly verboten.  I learned this the second or third day I was in Bilbao.  It is considered extremely forward.  Well, I guess there are about 15 men (and probably about 12 woman) who are waiting for me to give them a call.  


Time with my daughter in Europe....priceless.

And on the seventh day....we rested.

ABSOLUTELY NOT.






To be continued.......

Series of Dreams

During my latest trip, wherein I visited both Dublin and London, I came to the conclusion that this is not real life.  I am living a completely fake life.  It’s a dream.  I wake up every Monday in Spain, but every other weekend I find myself in a new country.  My schoolwork is, well, let’s just say…minimal.  I don’t have a job.  I think euros looks like the money in the board game Monopoly, and have found myself spending them like I own both Park Place and Boardwalk (despite the fact that I’m going to have to mortgage all my properties the second I step foot back in the U.S.).  I’m not just living a blessed existence; I am simply not even living in reality.

While in London, my friends and I had just finished blissfully walking over Millennium Bridge when we turned around to take a picture of the river we had crossed.  I had my camera around my neck, but when I went to take the picture, I realized that there was a woman sitting crumpled under the bridge, weakly holding a Styrofoam cup in her hand, extending it beneath the hands of the crowds of people that were shuffling past her.  She was quietly mumbling something –I could see her mouth moving, but she was not actually saying anything.  I assumed she was asking for money, but it seemed like she did not have the energy to actually form the words.  She was in the frame of my photo.  I realized how easily I could have zoomed in on the bridge – simply and effectively cropping her out of the picture.  How easy it is to look away from things that are easier left unseen.  I have no “solution” to any of this, as this one woman represents much more than a “problem,” but I will remember how she made me feel for a long time, although I will soon forget the sight of that bridge.  I never did take the picture anyway. 

However surreal my trip was, and however struck I am when images like this remind me of the whole picture of the world I am living in, I truly did have a fantastic time in both Dublin and London over my mini fall vacation from school.  I arrived in Dublin on a Thursday night.  I was shocked by how small the city seemed to be.  It was so quaint, but so alive at the same time.  After checking into our hostel, my girlfriends and I headed out to a local Irish Pub for a little night music and some typical Irish food.  We sang along to all the songs that we have been missing from the States (especially the extremely enthusiastic version of “Living on a Prayer” that the ((cuuuute)) Irish performer dedicated to the “American girls”). 

Kelsey and I being all pubby.

Tourist Central.

The next morning, the girls and I hopped on a super-touristy tour bus that took us all around the city and stopped at all the major hot-spots to let us know where we should focus our attention over the next two days.   Once we had circled the city, we could use this tour bus as a means of transportation to get back to the stops that most interested us.  On Friday, we took a tour of the Guinness Factory, where I re-decided that Guinness is absolutely disgusting, but it was fun to see how much pride the Irish have in their beer.  On Saturday, we toured the Kilmainham Gaol (Jail), which is absolutely packed with social and political history.  Our extremely friendly and knowledgeable tour guide threw a lot of information at us, but the history lesson was both interesting and appreciated by all.  Daily life in the jail sounds like it was absolutely miserable, and yet we learned that hundreds of people purposefully committed crimes during the times of the Great Famine in the hopes of being incarcerated, because incarceration guaranteed some meager daily allotment of food. We also learned that only 7% of the Irish population is fluent in Irish Gaelic, due its prohibition during the 19^th century by Great Britain.  Ideas like this also hit us with the harsh blow of reality, as we continued to snap pictures on our tour of Europe.

I know it is.  I can smell it.  Yum.

Kilmainham Gaol - this room has been the set for many films, including the Italian Job.

For me, the most enjoyable part of Dublin was simply walking through St. Stephen’s Park, which is full of lovely little winding trails connected by bridges that lead over ponds filled with swans and ducks.  Apart from the fact that we witnessed one man attempting to feed the feet of his baby child to a swan, this park was one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been.

St. Stephen's Park.

Another enjoyable stop: Scones at the Queen of Tarts pastry shop.

Dublin was one of the coolest places I have ever been, and it is home to the nicest people in the universe, hands-down.  However, we were off on our next adventure before we knew it.  We landed in London before 8:00 AM on Sunday, and immediately set out to start knocking the most typically touristy stops off our list.  We hit Big Ben, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Welington Arch, Hyde Park, Kenningston Palace, and Tower Bridge by nightfall, and made it to West Minister Abbey, the Globe Theatre, Saint Paul’s Church, and Camden Market by midday on Monday.  The very best thing that I saw in London was Jane Kelleher, one of my best friends from high school who greeted me with a huge, teary-eyed hug and left me me in the very best mood for the rest of the day.  I can’t describe how awesome it was to see someone who I have known and loved for years in a completely foreign place.  It was comforting, exciting, and perfect.  Love you, Janie!

JCK and CRA in London.  

Elana, Big Ben and me.

Kelsey, Emily, and Elana re-living their glory days and embracing the fall in Hyde Park.

We walked through this park for almost three hours.

But we were lost for at least 2 of them.

Buckingham Palace.

Our tour of Kenningston Palace will forever be classified in my mind as one of the most bizarre experiences of my life.  I do not know exactly how to describe our tour of that building. We were told at the entrance that it was our mission to “find” the seven “lost” princesses of England within the walls of the palace. Elana, Emily, Kelsey and I were handed (what seemed like) a mystery treasure map with super secret instructions that described the journey we were about to embark upon as a magical voyage through time and space where we were to discover the lost Princesses of England, befriend them, and be whisked off into a magical land where only princesses and fairies live. We walked out of the castle almost crying from both laughter and disappointment at the tourist trap we had just fallen in to.  At this point, the one hour of sleep we had gotten the night before was failing us, and we began screaming over our anger that the princesses of England were not Arielle, Belle, Pocahontas, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty, and that, in actuality, many of the real princesses apparently did not enjoy their royal lives nor the fact that they were not allowed to have real friends and that their parents paid little attention to them.  Again, our grip on reality is weak here in Europe.

Kennsington Palace: What?

However, our tour of the Globe Theatre did not disappoint.  Having been told that I can be slightly dramatic at times, walking around this theatre was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to London.  And for those of you non-theatre lovers out there, take a second to at least appreciate the impact Shakespeare has had on the English language:

“If you cannot understand my argument, and declare ‘It's Greek to me’, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise - why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I were dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord! Tut, tut! for goodness' sake! what the dickens! but me no buts - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.”   – Bernard Levin

Sitting outside the Globe Theatre.

Inside the Globe Theatre.

On Monday night, we journeyed back to Bilbao.  I might have been a little sad to end my fall break so quickly had it not been for Thursday’s arrival of the one and only Peaches and Cream, aka Peach, aka Petra, aka mi madre to Spain!!!!!  I can’t tell you how happy I am to have my Mom here with me.  It’s probably the best thing ever. I am going to let her blog about our experiences together next week, so all I will say for now is that it is certainly always an adventure when the two of us are together. 

As a side note, she also brought me 11 bags on Lindt Chocolate, 4 bags of coffee, 100 packets of Splenda, 2 boxes of cereal, 6 boxes of crackers, a jar of cashew butter, an assortment of cashews and pistachios, 2 bags of Craisins, and 20 Luna and Clif Bars.  Have I mentioned that I hate the food here in Bilbao?  I almost cried when she opened her suitcase.  I honestly don’t know how she had any room left in there for clothes, but all I can say is: GRACIAS, about a million times over.  Plus, I left one of my precious bags of chocolates in the common room of my floor to try and make nice with the Spanish girls that I live with, and suddenly, they love me!  Invites to go shopping with them and play on their soccer team abound.  Thanks, Mommy!  I’ve never been very good at making friends on my own.

Number One Care Package in the World - hand-delivered by the World's Number One Mom.

So, while this life that I’m living may seem completely crazy and unreal, I know that I need to take this time to be selfish with this experience and just appreciate each day.  My “real” life will be waiting for me when I get back to the United States, and I am hoping to bring all of these dreamlike experiences with me and somehow integrate everything I have learned from them into my reality.

Other highlights of the past couple weeks include tricking two separate people into thinking that I am a native of Bilbao and knowledgeable enough to be approached with questions.  Low points include not knowing the answer to either of the questions they asked me.  Oh, well.  Stay tuned for the adventures of Mother and Daughter in Europe.  Here’s a preview: Today, while my mother was found sitting in my room when a maintenance staff worker entered to clean it, my mom began frantically making motions as if she were cradling a baby in her arms, pointing to my bed, and screaming, “Bambino, bambino!!!!” Bambino means “little boy”…in Italian.  She was attempting to tell the Spanish-speaking woman that I was her daughter.