Once back in Europe, we finally were able to enjoy several days of rest. We even found a public outdoor basketball court, which we had been searching for since our arrival here. Gabe is confident he can hustle a few bucks out of the locals. Will opted for the rock wall instead, and has been several times since, even meeting a few Spaniards in the process.
Starting thursday, however, Barcelona was bleeding Cardinal red- Stanford students abroad came from all over the continent to celebrate a birthday. We were only too happy to host them. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't too cooperative, and somewhat ruined our plans to enjoy Montjuic, a must-see in Barcelona, on Friday. After finding shelter in a bar briefly, though, we salvaged a rainy afternoon at the National Catalonian Art Museum, which we had not yet visited. We all met up later to enjoy Barcelona's nightlife- everyone agreed it is second-to-none.
Saturday was game day vs. UCLA. Normally this wouldn't be a massive rivalry, but given both the mass of UCLA students in the ISA program and the comparable number of Stanford students here for the weekend, blood was boiling on both sides. Though we made a valiant effort at somehow maneuvering a way to watch the game live, we all ended up crowding around a little laptop with the "gametracker" on it, that is, watching a blue line and a red line march down the virtual fields. It did come down to an exciting finish, though unfortunately not in our favor. We were greeted Sunday morning with taunting and bragging via text message from several of our so-called UCLA friends.
Our losing streak also continued into this week. A local bar hosts a "Quiz Night" every Wednesday night, and we decided to finally take our shot at the big money prize. The questions were too pop-culture oriented for us though, and we came away with a disappointing second place finish. To prepare for next week's contest, we're reading the encyclopedia cover to cover.
We have also been getting increasingly more adventuresome in the kitchen. Recently, with the help of "Dad's Own Cookbook", we have feasted on some home cooked classics, including chili, chicken parmesan, and lasagna. Our corn bread, however, leaves much to be desired.
In other news, Bobby has started a volunteer language exchange program with a Spaniard, and Gabe is sick but hopefully on the mend. All of us are looking forward to another great week in Barcelona. Stay tuned.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
A Safari... of sorts
Apologies for the delay in this entry- we are still recovering from our various Moroccan stomach illnesses that were a bit trying at times. On the whole though, it was an interesting trip, and Bobby and I (Pitch) even managed to get in a little camel riding.
We knew we were in for an adventure when, after meeting our transportation at the Marrakech airport, we discovered the ride to our accommodations on the coast was a 5 hour journey, rather than the hour commute we expected. So after a good Moroccan meal in the city, we were on the road. The drive was long and windy, but eventually we ended up in the right place, a small town near Agadir, at the very reasonable hour of 2 am.
We were greeted the next morning by some excellent Moroccan weather, and we immediately hit the beach to take advantage- surfboards and a lesson were included in our trip. It was hard to say which of us was the worst, though I might nominated myself, as I was the only one who managed to break the fin of the board off on my head after getting tossed by a sizable wave. Not that everyone else was much better- we had all perfected the panicked head-over-heels flail by the early afternoon, and we tried to stick to the outsides of the group so as to avoid being seen. But we are determined to improve, and were it not for the terrible weather on Saturday, I have no doubt we would all have been hanging ten with the best of them at weekend's end.
Friday night also included a trip to a Moroccan bath house, by far the most culturally interesting part of our adventure. It is basically a large steam room, and the men and women are separated of course. Its BYOSST- bring your own shampoo, soap, and towel- but everyone receives a bucket upon their entrance, to be filled with the piping hot water (cold is also available, and surprisingly refreshing) from the taps on the walls of the bath house. The locals clearly knew the way to sit that offers the best leverage for optimal scrubbing, but we managed just fine.
Dinner that night was good, but I would eventually regret it- starting early saturday morning, I was sidelined the entire day with food poisoning. It also rained the entire day, which made surfing impossible because all the trash from the street drained down to the coast and into the surf. So the others decided to go to the town market, where they chatted it up with a nice local tea vendor while sampling some of his goods.
I was recovered enough by Sunday, but had seemingly transferred my illness to Will- at least we were already on our way home. We got back to Marrakech early enough for a quick stroll around the flea market, where Gabe, Bobby and I all haggled for some gifts before our departure. Needless to say, it was nice to get home.
More on this past weekend to come later.
We knew we were in for an adventure when, after meeting our transportation at the Marrakech airport, we discovered the ride to our accommodations on the coast was a 5 hour journey, rather than the hour commute we expected. So after a good Moroccan meal in the city, we were on the road. The drive was long and windy, but eventually we ended up in the right place, a small town near Agadir, at the very reasonable hour of 2 am.
We were greeted the next morning by some excellent Moroccan weather, and we immediately hit the beach to take advantage- surfboards and a lesson were included in our trip. It was hard to say which of us was the worst, though I might nominated myself, as I was the only one who managed to break the fin of the board off on my head after getting tossed by a sizable wave. Not that everyone else was much better- we had all perfected the panicked head-over-heels flail by the early afternoon, and we tried to stick to the outsides of the group so as to avoid being seen. But we are determined to improve, and were it not for the terrible weather on Saturday, I have no doubt we would all have been hanging ten with the best of them at weekend's end.
Friday night also included a trip to a Moroccan bath house, by far the most culturally interesting part of our adventure. It is basically a large steam room, and the men and women are separated of course. Its BYOSST- bring your own shampoo, soap, and towel- but everyone receives a bucket upon their entrance, to be filled with the piping hot water (cold is also available, and surprisingly refreshing) from the taps on the walls of the bath house. The locals clearly knew the way to sit that offers the best leverage for optimal scrubbing, but we managed just fine.
Dinner that night was good, but I would eventually regret it- starting early saturday morning, I was sidelined the entire day with food poisoning. It also rained the entire day, which made surfing impossible because all the trash from the street drained down to the coast and into the surf. So the others decided to go to the town market, where they chatted it up with a nice local tea vendor while sampling some of his goods.
I was recovered enough by Sunday, but had seemingly transferred my illness to Will- at least we were already on our way home. We got back to Marrakech early enough for a quick stroll around the flea market, where Gabe, Bobby and I all haggled for some gifts before our departure. Needless to say, it was nice to get home.
More on this past weekend to come later.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Prost!
Immediately after Oktoberfest '08 it was decided: we would book our trip to Oktoberfest '09. We just might go ahead and do 2010-2020 while we're at it.
We arrived with Maya and Tunji on thursday night, checked into the hotel, and immediately migrated, or maybe pilgrimaged is more appropriate, to the festivities. The brisk air provided a welcome change to the mild Barcelona fall. But Oktoberfest- what a sight! Full steins of beer, footlong bratwursts, and carnival rides as far as the eye could see. It was like kids in a candy store. Or like young adults in a brewery. A big brewery. Except all the men were wearing lederhosen, and the women durndels. We almost sprung for the traditional outfits, but managed to resist.
It was clear, though, that most of the main action at the Fest took place in the tents, which each serve their own brand of beer and hold up to 6000 people. We showed up too late to get into one on thursday, but we watched jealously from the (now rainy) outside as thousands of revelers toasted every few minutes and sung songs. We knew we had to do whatever it took to get in.
Turns out what it takes is a very early morning. After meeting our good friends Luke and Nick, fresh in from Madrid, and Tim and Aaron who arrived late thursday night, we packed it in for an early rise the next morning. At 8 am we left for the fairgrounds, but on our commute we realized that we might have been too late yet again, as the subway and tunnel to the tents were already packed. We tried to get into one of the more popular tents, the Schotten-something, but no luck. At the last second, we found that the Lowenbrau tent had spots still open, and we just made it in before the doors closed.
We settled in very nicely, even making friends with the German group at the table next to us. We learned some German drinking songs, undoubtedly heavy with profanity that we didn't understand, and, of course, sampled the local Lowenbrau beer. Unfortunately, though, we had unknowingly sat at the "reserved" tables, which were the only ones left when we came in. We made a valiant effort at hiding and defacing the paper reservation put on our table, and almost got ourselves kicked out in the process. Eventually the waiters won, though, and we all became one of the dreaded "table nomads", wandering from table to table with our steins, looking for a friendly face and anywhere we could squeeze in. Nomad life is understandably tiring though, and we left in the early afternoon, somewhat discouraged. The day was not completely lost though- we sampled our first German wheat beer.
We vowed the same would not happen on our remaining day, and thus were up and at 'em 6 am Saturday morning. The line for the Haufbrahaus was already significant, but we were finally able to get a non-reserved table, though a few of us were effectively suffocated by the hordes pushing through to the tent doors. We finally experienced the true Oktoberfest day in the Haufbrahaus- the place erupted when the band came on stage. They played for hours, and surprisingly, most of the songs were in English. Crowd favorites included John Denver's Country Road, New York New York, Won't You Be My Girl, and an acapella version of Seven Nation Army. We left that evening satisfied, and hoping we could some day return.
This weekend, we are off to Morocco, which is sure to be yet another adventure. Stay tuned.
We arrived with Maya and Tunji on thursday night, checked into the hotel, and immediately migrated, or maybe pilgrimaged is more appropriate, to the festivities. The brisk air provided a welcome change to the mild Barcelona fall. But Oktoberfest- what a sight! Full steins of beer, footlong bratwursts, and carnival rides as far as the eye could see. It was like kids in a candy store. Or like young adults in a brewery. A big brewery. Except all the men were wearing lederhosen, and the women durndels. We almost sprung for the traditional outfits, but managed to resist.
It was clear, though, that most of the main action at the Fest took place in the tents, which each serve their own brand of beer and hold up to 6000 people. We showed up too late to get into one on thursday, but we watched jealously from the (now rainy) outside as thousands of revelers toasted every few minutes and sung songs. We knew we had to do whatever it took to get in.
Turns out what it takes is a very early morning. After meeting our good friends Luke and Nick, fresh in from Madrid, and Tim and Aaron who arrived late thursday night, we packed it in for an early rise the next morning. At 8 am we left for the fairgrounds, but on our commute we realized that we might have been too late yet again, as the subway and tunnel to the tents were already packed. We tried to get into one of the more popular tents, the Schotten-something, but no luck. At the last second, we found that the Lowenbrau tent had spots still open, and we just made it in before the doors closed.
We settled in very nicely, even making friends with the German group at the table next to us. We learned some German drinking songs, undoubtedly heavy with profanity that we didn't understand, and, of course, sampled the local Lowenbrau beer. Unfortunately, though, we had unknowingly sat at the "reserved" tables, which were the only ones left when we came in. We made a valiant effort at hiding and defacing the paper reservation put on our table, and almost got ourselves kicked out in the process. Eventually the waiters won, though, and we all became one of the dreaded "table nomads", wandering from table to table with our steins, looking for a friendly face and anywhere we could squeeze in. Nomad life is understandably tiring though, and we left in the early afternoon, somewhat discouraged. The day was not completely lost though- we sampled our first German wheat beer.
We vowed the same would not happen on our remaining day, and thus were up and at 'em 6 am Saturday morning. The line for the Haufbrahaus was already significant, but we were finally able to get a non-reserved table, though a few of us were effectively suffocated by the hordes pushing through to the tent doors. We finally experienced the true Oktoberfest day in the Haufbrahaus- the place erupted when the band came on stage. They played for hours, and surprisingly, most of the songs were in English. Crowd favorites included John Denver's Country Road, New York New York, Won't You Be My Girl, and an acapella version of Seven Nation Army. We left that evening satisfied, and hoping we could some day return.
This weekend, we are off to Morocco, which is sure to be yet another adventure. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Coast to Coast
San Sebastian turned out to be the perfect long weekend getaway. We took full advantage of perhaps the last beach days we'll see this fall, and spent them on the nicest beach we've seen so far. And our timing was perfect- coincidentally, we overlapped with San Sebastian's world renowned film festival- which meant hundreds of screaming girls lining up on the red carpet to catch a glimpse of Meryl Streep, among others. Will shouted to her, hoping for an autograph, but to no avail.
Our final night we decided to climb the hill at the foot of the city. We were immediately rewarded with a fantastic view of one of the prettiest cities we've seen in our travels, and we all decided to return at some point.
It was also our first lengthy train ride since arriving in Europe- an 8 hour journey during the day on wednesday, and a 10 hour overnight return trip on Friday night. The bed cabin rivaled that of a barracks, but after we put our touch on it, it felt just like home- so much so that Gabe has since resolved to travel everywhere by overnight train.
Our other classes have also started, which unfortunately cuts into our sightseeing time, but I suppose it's called study abroad for a reason. Anyway, we always have things to look forward to- this weekend, we will be meeting up with some good friends at Oktoberfest. I'm sure we will have excellent tales from Deutschland upon our return.
Our final night we decided to climb the hill at the foot of the city. We were immediately rewarded with a fantastic view of one of the prettiest cities we've seen in our travels, and we all decided to return at some point.
It was also our first lengthy train ride since arriving in Europe- an 8 hour journey during the day on wednesday, and a 10 hour overnight return trip on Friday night. The bed cabin rivaled that of a barracks, but after we put our touch on it, it felt just like home- so much so that Gabe has since resolved to travel everywhere by overnight train.
Our other classes have also started, which unfortunately cuts into our sightseeing time, but I suppose it's called study abroad for a reason. Anyway, we always have things to look forward to- this weekend, we will be meeting up with some good friends at Oktoberfest. I'm sure we will have excellent tales from Deutschland upon our return.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)