Iezzi: 'DCA? Retards¡'
Eric holds Matt back: 'NOOOOOOO¡'
Holly shrugs the I dont know whats going on look
Josh: 'Cincuenta euros?'
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Valencia day 2
Valencia day 2
This day was a lot of running around and planning, trying to get Lisa a train back to Madrid at a jammed station.
Goodbye, Lisa!!
After that we went back and forth between cafe y te, mcdonalds, and the tourist info station trying to figure out how to get to Ibiza from Valencia. Sadly, it was too expensive and poorly timed, so we changed plans and hopped the train to barcelona. We arrived late for some food, hit a few bars, and called it an early (3am) night.
This day was a lot of running around and planning, trying to get Lisa a train back to Madrid at a jammed station.
Goodbye, Lisa!!
After that we went back and forth between cafe y te, mcdonalds, and the tourist info station trying to figure out how to get to Ibiza from Valencia. Sadly, it was too expensive and poorly timed, so we changed plans and hopped the train to barcelona. We arrived late for some food, hit a few bars, and called it an early (3am) night.
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Barcelona Day 1
Barcelona Day 1
You'll have to rely on Holly and Iezzi for some of this one, I picked up a cold and had to take it easier. We started off with breakfast at the Mercado and some cafe, and then headed down to see the Colombus statue. After that, we walked down by the harbor to the Picasso museum. The emphasis was not on cubism, but mostly on his formative more impressionist years. After that I booked it back to the hotel for a siesta. We booked our last flight back from Barcelona, grabbed some tasty chinese, and started bar hopping.
At one, the bartender had a supersoaker and was spraying out at the crowd, at the next we met some native Barcelonan couple.
Finally we met up with some randoms from VA that Holly knew, kicked the delorian into high gear, and blasted off for the future. I think someone probably went to the beach because of all of the sand in the shower, but I'm really not sure.
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Friday, August 27, 2010
We flipped a euro...and ended up in Barcelona.
After a good night out in Valencia (we finally made it to a discotec and gave away 6 of our shape bracelets to our new amigos!), we woke up (late) (again) and got Lisa to the train station to catch a train back to Madrid. Adios amiga :(
The original plan was to head to Ibiza from Valencia, so we started piecing together the logistics of that. Making it to Ibiza would require a bus ride (or car rental), ferry ride and train ride all in a very tight timeframe, as we would have to be back in Valencia Saturday afternoon. We deliberated for quite awhile, walked back and forth between the train station and Cafe y Te at least 14 times, and were just about to flip a euro to determine our fate -- Ibiza or Barcelona. But at the last minute, Iezzi and I both said Barcelona. Josh teared up a little, and I think he still might have booked a ferry ticket to the island...
We were doing all of this deliberating at a computer station in a gritty cafe at the Valencia Nord tran station. Sitting next to us were 2 americanos. We´d been there for about 20 minutes when I took a second look at these dudes and realized I KNEW THEM. I had met them back in March the night of Holly D´s bachelorette party... they helped her check a couple things off her ¨to do¨ list !! We were all pretty shocked to have randomly run into each other like that. They were on a very similar tour as us, making stops in Madrid, Sevilla, Granada and Tomatina. They too were headed to Barcelona (an unplanned stop on their trip as well). Small little world, eh?
So we´re in Barcelona and I think we´re all happy to be here (but again, Josh may have booked a ferry ticket, we´re still not sure if he was serious about that). Plans for Barcelona include beach, Picasso museum, finally trying churros, discotecing the night away, and not getting pick-pocketed.
The original plan was to head to Ibiza from Valencia, so we started piecing together the logistics of that. Making it to Ibiza would require a bus ride (or car rental), ferry ride and train ride all in a very tight timeframe, as we would have to be back in Valencia Saturday afternoon. We deliberated for quite awhile, walked back and forth between the train station and Cafe y Te at least 14 times, and were just about to flip a euro to determine our fate -- Ibiza or Barcelona. But at the last minute, Iezzi and I both said Barcelona. Josh teared up a little, and I think he still might have booked a ferry ticket to the island...
We were doing all of this deliberating at a computer station in a gritty cafe at the Valencia Nord tran station. Sitting next to us were 2 americanos. We´d been there for about 20 minutes when I took a second look at these dudes and realized I KNEW THEM. I had met them back in March the night of Holly D´s bachelorette party... they helped her check a couple things off her ¨to do¨ list !! We were all pretty shocked to have randomly run into each other like that. They were on a very similar tour as us, making stops in Madrid, Sevilla, Granada and Tomatina. They too were headed to Barcelona (an unplanned stop on their trip as well). Small little world, eh?
 |
| Wait a minute... I know you guys! |
So we´re in Barcelona and I think we´re all happy to be here (but again, Josh may have booked a ferry ticket, we´re still not sure if he was serious about that). Plans for Barcelona include beach, Picasso museum, finally trying churros, discotecing the night away, and not getting pick-pocketed.
 |
| Sangria in Barcelona |
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Valencia
Valencia, hotel turia
Finally, around 3am, we all fell asleep on the bus, due to a combo of exhaustion, heat, and some toxin the bus driver was pumping instead of ac. At the station, we rented lockers, changed, and tagged along with some other tomatiners to find the train to bunol.
We hit another snag once we got there, the platform was overflowing, and no trains were coming. We tried the elevator, but some angry policia shut us down right at the last moment. Last resort: taxi.
We got there just in time, surrounded by yellow tomatina shirts with the heinz logo.
Now it was time for a light pregame (ie bottle of wine), and a tomato fight. After a long hike, we found the plaza with the ham on the greased pole. It took almost 2 hours to get the ham, I did make an attempt and nearly was trampled, but the tomato fight itself was actually a bit of a letdown. After a brief rest at our meeting spot:
This dude was here at 12pm.....
and still here when Izzy passed out in the exact same pose above him at 3pm. We think he might have been dead.
We got up, ate some terrible sandwich, then cabbed it back to valencia to grab a hotel and a slice of home: McDonalds. They even had McPollo for you Dave.
Finally, around 3am, we all fell asleep on the bus, due to a combo of exhaustion, heat, and some toxin the bus driver was pumping instead of ac. At the station, we rented lockers, changed, and tagged along with some other tomatiners to find the train to bunol.
We hit another snag once we got there, the platform was overflowing, and no trains were coming. We tried the elevator, but some angry policia shut us down right at the last moment. Last resort: taxi.
We got there just in time, surrounded by yellow tomatina shirts with the heinz logo.
Now it was time for a light pregame (ie bottle of wine), and a tomato fight. After a long hike, we found the plaza with the ham on the greased pole. It took almost 2 hours to get the ham, I did make an attempt and nearly was trampled, but the tomato fight itself was actually a bit of a letdown. After a brief rest at our meeting spot:
This dude was here at 12pm.....
and still here when Izzy passed out in the exact same pose above him at 3pm. We think he might have been dead.
We got up, ate some terrible sandwich, then cabbed it back to valencia to grab a hotel and a slice of home: McDonalds. They even had McPollo for you Dave.
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Granada
Granada hotel Ana Capri
Woke up at the crack of noon, got some sweet pastry from a crossointeria, then walked up and around granada, looking through the shops.
I managed to clear the fraud alert on my visa card, thank god, along the way. We saw some cute feral cats, but there were a ton of them, and a donkey taxi. On our way back down the hill, we stopped off in minotaur bar for cervezas y tapas.
There were a bunch of hand drawn minotaurs covering the walls, so of course we had to add our own.
After that we hit up the hotel for some internet and siesta, then set out on our climb up to the alhambra. We walked around a sweet garden hedge with fountains, and the generalife.
We then trekked back to check out the palaces. We hoofed it back down the mountain, picked up some items for tomatina outfits, and hopped the bus to the bus terminal. After a big scare that the bus had left without us, we managed to get on at 10:30. It's 1:40 now as I'm writing this, and we are travelling quietly through the dark to Valencia.
Woke up at the crack of noon, got some sweet pastry from a crossointeria, then walked up and around granada, looking through the shops.
I managed to clear the fraud alert on my visa card, thank god, along the way. We saw some cute feral cats, but there were a ton of them, and a donkey taxi. On our way back down the hill, we stopped off in minotaur bar for cervezas y tapas.
There were a bunch of hand drawn minotaurs covering the walls, so of course we had to add our own.
After that we hit up the hotel for some internet and siesta, then set out on our climb up to the alhambra. We walked around a sweet garden hedge with fountains, and the generalife.
We then trekked back to check out the palaces. We hoofed it back down the mountain, picked up some items for tomatina outfits, and hopped the bus to the bus terminal. After a big scare that the bus had left without us, we managed to get on at 10:30. It's 1:40 now as I'm writing this, and we are travelling quietly through the dark to Valencia.
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Sevilla day 1
Sevilla day 1
We got up early on our last day in madrid to hustle to the train station for sevilla. After an express train, we arrived and found a hostel near the torre giralda, and la catedral de sevilla, 2nd largest in all of spain. We toured the cathedral, saw some treasure, then marched out into the 104 degree zombieland that is sevilla in august. After seaching for almost an hour for food (and signs of other human life), we inevitably ended up at another irish pub. We proceeded to get super tanked off of caramel, honey, and cointrea "smoking" shots with the waitress and bartender, stumbled aimlessly around the city past burger king, get back to the hostel, only to decide we were hungry and set out again for more food. We then proceeded to set the alarm for 259am so we could wake up and go clubbing. That did not happen.
We got up early on our last day in madrid to hustle to the train station for sevilla. After an express train, we arrived and found a hostel near the torre giralda, and la catedral de sevilla, 2nd largest in all of spain. We toured the cathedral, saw some treasure, then marched out into the 104 degree zombieland that is sevilla in august. After seaching for almost an hour for food (and signs of other human life), we inevitably ended up at another irish pub. We proceeded to get super tanked off of caramel, honey, and cointrea "smoking" shots with the waitress and bartender, stumbled aimlessly around the city past burger king, get back to the hostel, only to decide we were hungry and set out again for more food. We then proceeded to set the alarm for 259am so we could wake up and go clubbing. That did not happen.
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Sevilla day 2
Sevilla, day 2
We walked around a lot more today, along the river. We saw the torre de oro, and went to a bullfighting museo. After that, we braved the heat again to wander down to a huge park near a royal palace. The park had some cool trees, fountains, and playgrounds, and the palace, while still under construction, was still architecturally neat. We walked back to find some food near our hostel, did some shopping, and caught a taxi back to the train station. Then disaster struck. Once we bought our tickets to granada, we learned that all trains to valencia from sevilla or granada were sold out. We'd need to car, bus, plane, or walk our way there. After some frantic searching for information, we found out that there was indeed a bus, so we decided to spend the night in granada, and try to get on that. My work called me as well, to make things worse. We sat on some random stoop in granada for a while, trying to steal internet and book bus tickets to no avail. Holly cheered us up with some beer. Izzys battery died just at the confirmation screen,so we had to seek another method. After following rick's suggestion, we hopped on a bus, and found a hotel to stay in, with internet. Dropped the bags, booked the tickets, and then went out for some late night eats(and bottles of wine). Not content to call it a night tanked at 3am, Izzy and I tried to buy bottles of wine "to go", from several places. No dice. We ended up at yet another irish pub, hannigan and sons, for some murphys and heated discussion on why lost and heroes were both huge dissappointments, as a series. Stumbling back around 5am, we MAY have woken up the girls and stolen their ac control....I have a feeling that will come back to haunt us.
We walked around a lot more today, along the river. We saw the torre de oro, and went to a bullfighting museo. After that, we braved the heat again to wander down to a huge park near a royal palace. The park had some cool trees, fountains, and playgrounds, and the palace, while still under construction, was still architecturally neat. We walked back to find some food near our hostel, did some shopping, and caught a taxi back to the train station. Then disaster struck. Once we bought our tickets to granada, we learned that all trains to valencia from sevilla or granada were sold out. We'd need to car, bus, plane, or walk our way there. After some frantic searching for information, we found out that there was indeed a bus, so we decided to spend the night in granada, and try to get on that. My work called me as well, to make things worse. We sat on some random stoop in granada for a while, trying to steal internet and book bus tickets to no avail. Holly cheered us up with some beer. Izzys battery died just at the confirmation screen,so we had to seek another method. After following rick's suggestion, we hopped on a bus, and found a hotel to stay in, with internet. Dropped the bags, booked the tickets, and then went out for some late night eats(and bottles of wine). Not content to call it a night tanked at 3am, Izzy and I tried to buy bottles of wine "to go", from several places. No dice. We ended up at yet another irish pub, hannigan and sons, for some murphys and heated discussion on why lost and heroes were both huge dissappointments, as a series. Stumbling back around 5am, we MAY have woken up the girls and stolen their ac control....I have a feeling that will come back to haunt us.
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Madrid day 2
Madrid. We went to the museo del prado and saw works by greco, goya,
velasquez. After the museo, we had a nice lunch at a cafe, even tho we were
accosted by many local beggars. Later that night, we wnet back to the alley
with sangria towers and hookah to enjoy the madrid atmosphere. After many
drinks and tobacco, we stopped into a bingo salon, where I won a shiny 33
euros. Holly got a bit overexcited and screamed linea! Even tho she hadn't
won. Its their fault for not explaining the rules. After some late night
beers at cafe y te, and some underage looking prostitution ring setting off
for the evening, we called it a night.
velasquez. After the museo, we had a nice lunch at a cafe, even tho we were
accosted by many local beggars. Later that night, we wnet back to the alley
with sangria towers and hookah to enjoy the madrid atmosphere. After many
drinks and tobacco, we stopped into a bingo salon, where I won a shiny 33
euros. Holly got a bit overexcited and screamed linea! Even tho she hadn't
won. Its their fault for not explaining the rules. After some late night
beers at cafe y te, and some underage looking prostitution ring setting off
for the evening, we called it a night.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tomatina!!
we went
we saw
and by the looks of things and smell of us... we were conquered.
more details to come but for the time being... we survived. and are still figuring out how to rid the smell of decaying tomatoes from our fingernails.
we saw
and by the looks of things and smell of us... we were conquered.
more details to come but for the time being... we survived. and are still figuring out how to rid the smell of decaying tomatoes from our fingernails.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Rick says...
hola from granada! since we last posted, we have left madrid, checked out sevilla and made our way to granada. the time has been flying by!
about 24 hours before we left america, it dawned on all 4 of us that besides for booking our plane tickets and putting together a vague itinerary, we had done no actual planning or research for this trip..... oooops. so we bought a rick steves travel book in the aeropuerto and have been consulting him throughout our travels.
riding the train into seville on sunday afternoon, we consulted rick to see what he had to say about the city. "no one in their right mind would visit seville in august," he wrote. toooo caliente. on the train we watched the temperature rise from 30 degrees C in madrid to 41 in seville. rough math tells us that´s about 105 F. yikes. once again, rick for the win.
despite the sweltering heat, seville was beautiful. we toured the massive cathedral, the bull fighting arena, a beautiful park, the plaza de espana and spent way too much time in an irish pub. one thing we keep encountering is the siesta apparently all of spain takes for the entire month of august. many things are closed for the month and no regular events are taking place, ie we didn´t get to watch a bull fight in seville. but we´re still finding plenty to do and fun to be had.... bingo anyone?!
our plan is to check out granada today, see the alcatraz... errrr, alhambra, tonight, then catch an overnight bus to valencia. we´ll arrive there at 6 AM and then hopefully get on a bus to bunol for la tomatina, which starts around 8 AM wednesday morning. we have no idea how all of this is going to go or what to expect for la tomatina, but are pretty sure it will include a lot of estrados.
adios amigos!
about 24 hours before we left america, it dawned on all 4 of us that besides for booking our plane tickets and putting together a vague itinerary, we had done no actual planning or research for this trip..... oooops. so we bought a rick steves travel book in the aeropuerto and have been consulting him throughout our travels.
riding the train into seville on sunday afternoon, we consulted rick to see what he had to say about the city. "no one in their right mind would visit seville in august," he wrote. toooo caliente. on the train we watched the temperature rise from 30 degrees C in madrid to 41 in seville. rough math tells us that´s about 105 F. yikes. once again, rick for the win.
despite the sweltering heat, seville was beautiful. we toured the massive cathedral, the bull fighting arena, a beautiful park, the plaza de espana and spent way too much time in an irish pub. one thing we keep encountering is the siesta apparently all of spain takes for the entire month of august. many things are closed for the month and no regular events are taking place, ie we didn´t get to watch a bull fight in seville. but we´re still finding plenty to do and fun to be had.... bingo anyone?!
our plan is to check out granada today, see the alcatraz... errrr, alhambra, tonight, then catch an overnight bus to valencia. we´ll arrive there at 6 AM and then hopefully get on a bus to bunol for la tomatina, which starts around 8 AM wednesday morning. we have no idea how all of this is going to go or what to expect for la tomatina, but are pretty sure it will include a lot of estrados.
adios amigos!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
It's 12:30? I don't believe you!
after a brief four hour nap, we found a restaurant on our search for a flamenco show. we ordered a variety of tasty tapas, and i drank more than my fair share of a liter of sangria, before we headed out to the show. the flamenco was awesome, though all of us started to feel the effects of travel towards the end ie micro naps in our chairs. after some more cafe to get us going, we headed out to the irish bar on kathleens recommendation. iezzi ordered a manly blowjob shot, while the rest of us watched in horror. we proceeded to drink our faces off, tire, and rally multiple times. there was some quarters played, and finally we left the bar. holly decided that the evening was not over, and picked up a fivepack of beer, apparently six is illegal. we found iezzi dead on the bed, but he promptly resucitated for some card games. after that, thing get hazy, but i remember waking up at twelve thirty with someone banging on the door for us to check out.
Friday, August 20, 2010
We made it.
Buenas tardes from Espana! We made it to Madrid and despite the long flight and time difference, are feeling great after a good siesta... and looking forward to ¡fiesta! tonight.
With Day 1 on the books, here´s a short summary of the trip so far:
FAIL: Horrible movies on the flight over and sitting at the wrong terminal for an hour this morning, trying to find Lisa.
WIN: $3 shots "on the side" at Dulles prior to flight.
FAIL: Holly translating the menu at breakfast for Iezzi. "That means sandwich" ...... it didn´t mean sandwich.
WIN: Muy delicioso espresso with breakfast.
FAIL: Breaking a glass 40 oz bottle of beer and spilling sangria on the hostel bed, minutes after purchasing them.
WIN: Actually finding the hostel.
FAIL: Nun cookie shop (Iezzi´s sole reason for coming to Spain) being closed until Septiembre.
WIN: Ruffles jamon (ham) chips
- Lisa, Iezzi, Josh & Holly
With Day 1 on the books, here´s a short summary of the trip so far:
FAIL: Horrible movies on the flight over and sitting at the wrong terminal for an hour this morning, trying to find Lisa.
WIN: $3 shots "on the side" at Dulles prior to flight.
FAIL: Holly translating the menu at breakfast for Iezzi. "That means sandwich" ...... it didn´t mean sandwich.
WIN: Muy delicioso espresso with breakfast.
FAIL: Breaking a glass 40 oz bottle of beer and spilling sangria on the hostel bed, minutes after purchasing them.
WIN: Actually finding the hostel.
FAIL: Nun cookie shop (Iezzi´s sole reason for coming to Spain) being closed until Septiembre.
WIN: Ruffles jamon (ham) chips
- Lisa, Iezzi, Josh & Holly
Thursday, August 19, 2010
and it begins.
just got checked in at dulles (weeee! new trams!!). here's to hoping they don't lose my bag between now and the 5:30 flight!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
vague itinerary...
20 - 7 AM -- Arrive in Madrid... buenos dias, espana!
21 Madrid (possible toledo day trip)
22 Sevilla
23 Sevilla / Granada
24 Granada / End in Valencia
25 TOMATOESSSSS!! (Bunol for La Tomatina)
26 Valencia
27 Ibiza!!!!
28 Madrid
29 Sadness
The only tickets left are for 18:30... I think? Maybe? Haha. When I clicked through, that's what I saw anyway, haha.<----------Holly is right
Afternoon: 15th March to 14th October from 14.00pm to 20.00pm
Looks like 2-8 to me<-------Lisa is wrong!
holly i think you are looking at 830-14H....there should be another slot for 14H-20H
hmmm<-----------Iezzi is wrong!
For alhambra, make sure you click on the 24th of August, and then you can choose 14h to 20h, 67 tickets left.<----Josh is wrong as well! (30 min later)
Afternoon: 15th March to 14th October from 14.00pm to 20.00pm
Looks like 2-8 to me<-------Lisa is wrong!
holly i think you are looking at 830-14H....there should be another slot for 14H-20H
hmmm<-----------Iezzi is wrong!
For alhambra, make sure you click on the 24th of August, and then you can choose 14h to 20h, 67 tickets left.<----Josh is wrong as well! (30 min later)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Flight info:
Thursday, August 19, 2010
United Airlines # 4963
Washington Dulles Intl (IAD) to Madrid Barajas (MAD)
Departure (IAD): August 19, 5:30 PM EDT (evening)
Arrival (MAD): August 20, 7:25 AM CEST (morning)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
United Airlines # 4962
Madrid Barajas (MAD) to Washington Dulles Intl (IAD)
Departure (MAD): August 29, 11:05 AM CEST (morning)
Arrival (IAD): August 29, 2:00 PM EDT (afternoon)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
United Airlines # 4963
Washington Dulles Intl (IAD) to Madrid Barajas (MAD)
Departure (IAD): August 19, 5:30 PM EDT (evening)
Arrival (MAD): August 20, 7:25 AM CEST (morning)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
United Airlines # 4962
Madrid Barajas (MAD) to Washington Dulles Intl (IAD)
Departure (MAD): August 29, 11:05 AM CEST (morning)
Arrival (IAD): August 29, 2:00 PM EDT (afternoon)
Friday, August 13, 2010
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