Im going to make you wait for the explanation for that subject...
Sardinia is spectacular. Seriously, it is one of the altogether most beautiful places I have ever seen. My Lonely Planet says that it is like a continent in itself, and it feels like it--it has every kind of landscape imaginable, adn they are all richly vegetated and lush. The mountains and hills are terraced with vineyard and citrus and olive trees and it is all so GREEN. Its beautiful. And then there is the water. I crossed the island for the last 2.5 days to Cala Gonone, on the Golfo dOresei (pictures coming soon) and it is this little village spilling up the mountain sides from the Mediterranean, and all around it are the steepest, most enormous cliff faces and the most beautiful (well, maybe tied with Lagos) little coves and grottoes. Sardinians claim that they have the clearest water in the world, and I believe them. It is unreal--it is so clear that the water in these coves is like a thousand colors of blue and green and purple. Unbelievable...
And the people...fantastic. Friendliest bunch I have met so far in my travels, by far. They are so friendly and so pleased by your attempts to speak Italian...And I say attempts, because I frigging suck at it. Shockingly, an A+ in Ital 150 at UVic does not guarantee seemless communication with the natives...But they are so impressed when you try (unlike French people...and my French is WAY better than my Italian). Mostly, I speak in a mixture of Italian, French, adn English, with the odd vocab and verb that I can remember...But I managed to pull out of my ass (in context, not out of the blue) "I have no wristwatch" (dont even ask me why one of the very few Italian nouns I remember happens to be that, a word that I happened to need in conversation) and "I am afraid of the cave because it is too small." That one was spoken in a really broken way, but I got my point across and they didnt make me go to the cave. Professor Martina would be so proud of me.
Unfortunately, as beautiful as this place is and as nice as the people are and as good as the food is, it is about the least backpacker-friendly place I have ever been. There are NO fun people around at all. The only people I met there were the oddest couple--she was Ukrainian and he was Canadian--and I am dead convinced--call me crazy--that she was a Ukrainian mail order bride. Do they still have those? If they do, she was one, for sure. They had the strangest dynamic I havve ever seen and I actually turned down hanging out with them because it creeped me out. Plus, it is IMPOSSIBLE here if you dont have a car. It took me 6 hours and 3 bus transfers to cross an island that would have taken 1.5 hours by car. The buses run sooo infrequently it is ridiculous, and it is still in-season (until today, as it happens)...Which brings me to my story...
Yesterday, I spent the day taking a boat trip along the coast, checking out all the coves and spending a few hours on a couple of the beaches. Great day. Clouded over about 4 hours in, but I got a good enough idea of how fantastic the coast is...So I get back, and I have spent my last 20€ on this trip. I go to the cash machine, and it wont read my card. Shit. I have to pay my hotel bill, and I have no cash. Kristine has my Mastercard. It is the only cash machine in town, so I am told that i will have to go to Dorgali, a ten minute bus ride up the steepest, most zig-zaggy road that I have ever seen. But there are no more buses leaving that day...it is, after all, the insane hour of 5pm. So I have to go this morning at 8:05. Problem is, I was planning to take that bus out to leave to come back to Alghero. The bus back to Cala Gonone then leaves at 10:40, so I will miss the next bus out of Cala Gonone as well. This is disheartening news, because there are only four buses per day. Now let me emphasis to you how important it is that I make the next bus, at 2:25 (out of Cala Gonone). Today is the end of the season. Tomorrow, October 1, the east side of the island goes into hibernation mode and the buses run once per day...if that. Plus, tomorrow is Sunday. My only opportunity to get out of Cala Gonone tomorrow leaves at 4pm and thus will not allow me to make my three bus connections and I wont get back to Alghero...so I will miss my flight Monday morning. So I have to have to HAVE TO be on this bus. Its looking good until, in Dorgali, my bank card doesnt work either...at any of three banks, all Sardinian banks. So Im told Ill have to go to Nuoro, another 45 minutes out...so I am getting further away from Cala and closer to the time I need to catch the bus from there, AND I dont even have enough cash to make it to Nuoro...I thought briefly about hitchhiking, but then I think about my parents finding out and giving me a look similarly reproachful and disappointed to the one Nana Portugal gave me after The Incident...They would not be impressed. Plus I could get raped and murdered. So....picture this now...I actually walked around Dorgali and begged for money. It honestly had to be one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I learned the following: Germans are very, very generous. Brits are not. Old Italian men are also very generous. Old Italian women look at beggars like they are lepers. I got my 7€, only costing me my pride, and got on the bus to Nuoro, where I find a national bank and get my cash. So now I know that i may or may not make the bus at Cala Gonone because the same bus that drops me off there will be the one leaving (back to Nuoro, to transfer to Sassari, to transfer to Alghero, to transfer to Fertilia) 10 minutes later. It looks unlikely. The busstop to get back on the bus is up this big hill from my hotel, and i still have to pay and check out. So I start crying. This 30-something Italian woman (Giovanna) across the aisle asked me what was wrong...i told her the whole story, most of which I think she understood, and as we were coming into Cala Gonone and I was ready to admit defeat, she went up to the bus driver and started talked to him in mile-a-minute Italian and the bus driver actually stopped behind my hotel and waited for me to go in and pay, and then let me get back on (without a ticket! Giovanna said he said I had bought too many bus tickets today) and we were on our way...If I have not properly conveyed the panic of htis whole scenario, believe me, there was panic. Sardinia is not for backpackers--that is the moral of this story.
After that saint of a bus driver helped me out, everything worked out great with my transfers (although I put my hand on a wasp and got stung) and I arrived safely back in Fertilia, ahead of schedule. Now, if the weather cooperatres, I have one last day on the beach to recover from today.
I will post pictures soon. I will be reuniting with Kaje in Rome in two days...thank God. I am ready for the fun to start again.
Ciao,
Chels
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Separate Ways
So I am in Sardinia without Kristine. No, she did not "pull an Alyson;" if anything, I did. We got to the airport yesterday and were told that, despite the fact that the police officers assured us that Kaje could fly with the photocopy of her passport and the police report, it is "against Ryanair rules." It was really awful. We had only a few minutes to decide whether I would take the flight without her and it was a really shitty decision. Kris said that she didnt want me to miss anything that I really wanted to see (Sardinia is Top 5 for me) but more than that, I was concerned about the extra expense of missing the flight. Not only is there a "missed flight fee" (dont think that "missed" is the appropriate word when they wont let you on a flight for something entirely beyond your control) of 75£ (about $170), but also the lost cost of the two flights and the cost of getting to Italy by train. Since I barely have enough money for this trip in the first place, the idea of at least $300 in extra expenses was upsetting. But then, I didnt want to leave Kris to take the train alone...Textbook definition of a dilemma, I believe.
So after some tears in the airport, we decided that I would go while Kaje heads to Nice to wait out her temporary passport, and we will meet up in Italy in one week. After the decision was made, the tears dried up and Kris was all business. She reminded me of me three years ago after I was left in an airport. Actually maybe that isnt true, because she was way more confident than I was. I said before I left, "You can do this," and she said, "I know I can." It was pretty cool to see.
So although I knew that there was a possibility of us splitting up for a few days in the course of this trip, it feels really strange. I am having to try out my solo traveller legs again, and it feels wrong. So far, Sardinia is crap. There is honestly not a single person around--in my hostel or on the streets--and the beach right by us has had some sort of flood, so it isnt very pleasant. I know there is beautiful Sardinia out there, because I spent all summer at work google-imaging it; I just need to go out and find it...Alone, which isnt going to be the same.
Love,
Chelsea
So after some tears in the airport, we decided that I would go while Kaje heads to Nice to wait out her temporary passport, and we will meet up in Italy in one week. After the decision was made, the tears dried up and Kris was all business. She reminded me of me three years ago after I was left in an airport. Actually maybe that isnt true, because she was way more confident than I was. I said before I left, "You can do this," and she said, "I know I can." It was pretty cool to see.
So although I knew that there was a possibility of us splitting up for a few days in the course of this trip, it feels really strange. I am having to try out my solo traveller legs again, and it feels wrong. So far, Sardinia is crap. There is honestly not a single person around--in my hostel or on the streets--and the beach right by us has had some sort of flood, so it isnt very pleasant. I know there is beautiful Sardinia out there, because I spent all summer at work google-imaging it; I just need to go out and find it...Alone, which isnt going to be the same.
Love,
Chelsea
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Adios, Spain
We tried to give Spain a chance. We really did. I was warming to Barcelona--it´s vibrant and lively and has fantastic food. Loved Gaudi´s Parque Guell--it is like Dr. Suess land (will post pictures soon!). We went out dancing with our Aussie friend Sal until 4:30am (although that night I cut my foot and bled all over my shoe. We were dancing to Walking on Sunshine, but turns out I was actually Walking on Broken Glass....hahahah...sorry). We finally got some typical Spanish weather and spent some QT on the beach...
Despite all the cautionary tales (we´ve already met scores of people who have had their stuff stolen, especially in Barcelona) we were completely unprepared for what happened yesterday. Kristine had her bag stolen from the beach with everything in it. Everything. Passport, camera, 300€, journal, books, credit cards, etc. These people are obviously really good at what they do, as they seized a 30 second window of opportunity, after Kris had just flipped over and I had my face in the opposite direction with my iPod on. There were these annoying, very loud loudspeaker messages about jellyfish and I think it provided a distraction. It was an awful, awful day but Kaje is hangin´in.
We were actually working on the following lists before this happened, only now we aren´t joking.
Top 5 Things We Hate About Spain
1) Thieves--they´re everywhere. Pretty much everyone in the police station had
been robbed, including a person who had a broken Coke bottle held to
his throat and one who had her bag physically removed from across her
body by two men while her husband watched on helplessly.
2) Rude, rude people who won´t let us on the metro with our packs on.
3) All service people everywhere--I really think that Spain should introduce
SuperHost into the high school curriculum.
4) Madrid food. Worst meals I´ve eaten in my life. Restaurants with cigarette butts and trash all over the floor. Maybe FoodSafe should also be compulsory.
5) Disgusting hostel washrooms.
This list goes hand in hand with these lists...
Top 10 Things We Miss About Lagos
1) The beaches. Absolutely amazing. And people don´t steal your stuff there.
2) The Aussie boys (you know who you are)
3) Nana Portugal--despite her violent streak, she ran a tight ship.
4) Our own private bagno cleaned twice daily by #3
5) Arthur the crazy hostel guy.
6) The Chicken Man.
7) Fishbowls.
8) 5pm cheese snack.
9) The terrace.
10) 11pm ¨piano"
Top 5 Things We Miss About Home (Not including people)
1) Our own beds.
2) Sushi (Ebizo for me, Momo for Kaje)
3) Tim Horton´s
4) Baths in clean, Maria-cleaned bathtub
5) We can´t think of a fifth thing. That´s a pretty good sign, I think, since we have 2+ months to go.
We leave for Sardinia later today, and I am stoked about that. I´ve wanted to go there for ages and I am looking forward to a mellow week on beautiful beaches. The weather is beautiful again, so it should be just what we need. Between partying, bad mattresses, and partying, I honestly feel like I haven´t really slept in 2 weeks. But I´m not here to sleep, am I?
Love,
Chels
Despite all the cautionary tales (we´ve already met scores of people who have had their stuff stolen, especially in Barcelona) we were completely unprepared for what happened yesterday. Kristine had her bag stolen from the beach with everything in it. Everything. Passport, camera, 300€, journal, books, credit cards, etc. These people are obviously really good at what they do, as they seized a 30 second window of opportunity, after Kris had just flipped over and I had my face in the opposite direction with my iPod on. There were these annoying, very loud loudspeaker messages about jellyfish and I think it provided a distraction. It was an awful, awful day but Kaje is hangin´in.
We were actually working on the following lists before this happened, only now we aren´t joking.
Top 5 Things We Hate About Spain
1) Thieves--they´re everywhere. Pretty much everyone in the police station had
been robbed, including a person who had a broken Coke bottle held to
his throat and one who had her bag physically removed from across her
body by two men while her husband watched on helplessly.
2) Rude, rude people who won´t let us on the metro with our packs on.
3) All service people everywhere--I really think that Spain should introduce
SuperHost into the high school curriculum.
4) Madrid food. Worst meals I´ve eaten in my life. Restaurants with cigarette butts and trash all over the floor. Maybe FoodSafe should also be compulsory.
5) Disgusting hostel washrooms.
This list goes hand in hand with these lists...
Top 10 Things We Miss About Lagos
1) The beaches. Absolutely amazing. And people don´t steal your stuff there.
2) The Aussie boys (you know who you are)
3) Nana Portugal--despite her violent streak, she ran a tight ship.
4) Our own private bagno cleaned twice daily by #3
5) Arthur the crazy hostel guy.
6) The Chicken Man.
7) Fishbowls.
8) 5pm cheese snack.
9) The terrace.
10) 11pm ¨piano"
Top 5 Things We Miss About Home (Not including people)
1) Our own beds.
2) Sushi (Ebizo for me, Momo for Kaje)
3) Tim Horton´s
4) Baths in clean, Maria-cleaned bathtub
5) We can´t think of a fifth thing. That´s a pretty good sign, I think, since we have 2+ months to go.
We leave for Sardinia later today, and I am stoked about that. I´ve wanted to go there for ages and I am looking forward to a mellow week on beautiful beaches. The weather is beautiful again, so it should be just what we need. Between partying, bad mattresses, and partying, I honestly feel like I haven´t really slept in 2 weeks. But I´m not here to sleep, am I?
Love,
Chels
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Madrid: It`s no Lagos
I probably shouldn`t be writing this right now because I am exhausted. I think we`re still recovering from Lagos. Kaje and I have both been feeling homesick--for Lagos. We were there so long (7 nights in the end...we kept extending whenever leaving time was coming on) and met so many rad people and Lagos was so amazingly beautiful and cheap that Madrid has paled in comparison...which may or may not have anything to do with Madrid.
By the time we leave tonight we`ll have been here three days, although the first day was a write-off as we were recovering from a really unpleasant overnight train. There was only one couchette available, so Kris and I shared it. I took the first shift, she took the second. It was the worst feeling when she came at 3am to send me to the chair--the worst sleeping conditions around. We slept most of that day (in the worst hostel situations we`ve had yet, despite the fact that this place was #1 world-rated) and then went out with this nerdy Long Islandian fast-talker that Kaje met on the train. We went for sangria in Plaza Mayor, a beautiful square that reminded me of Saint Mark`s in Venice and then out for an overpriced sushi dinner that didn`t really satisfying Kris`and my serious sushi cravings.
Yesterday, we shopped a bit and then decided that it was time to finally injest some culture, so Lagos was like a culture vacuum. We went to the Prado and pretended for about twenty minutes to be interested in the room after room of Jesus pictures and portraits of unfortunate-looking royalty and then both admitted that we were faking it. But...today we went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which is supposed to be like a 1500-to-present survey course in western art history, which it was. It was really cool to see art by painters that I`ve studied and my favorite Georgia O`keeffe painting was there, which was really cool. I was stoked by the time we left. Culture isn`t so bad after all (but I still really miss Lagos).
Last night, we went out with a strange mix of people for tapas and out drinking. Our tapas weren`t quite what we expected (but we had great sangria and a cheese platter that was unbelievable) and we drank too much sangria and ended up leaving the bar by 2:30. After what we`ve been doing lately, that felt lamely early.
Boring blog, hey? We`re heading to Barcelona tonight...Hopefully that`ll compare to Lagos, but I somehow doubt it. It`s all downhill from here...(haha).
Love,
chelsea
By the time we leave tonight we`ll have been here three days, although the first day was a write-off as we were recovering from a really unpleasant overnight train. There was only one couchette available, so Kris and I shared it. I took the first shift, she took the second. It was the worst feeling when she came at 3am to send me to the chair--the worst sleeping conditions around. We slept most of that day (in the worst hostel situations we`ve had yet, despite the fact that this place was #1 world-rated) and then went out with this nerdy Long Islandian fast-talker that Kaje met on the train. We went for sangria in Plaza Mayor, a beautiful square that reminded me of Saint Mark`s in Venice and then out for an overpriced sushi dinner that didn`t really satisfying Kris`and my serious sushi cravings.
Yesterday, we shopped a bit and then decided that it was time to finally injest some culture, so Lagos was like a culture vacuum. We went to the Prado and pretended for about twenty minutes to be interested in the room after room of Jesus pictures and portraits of unfortunate-looking royalty and then both admitted that we were faking it. But...today we went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which is supposed to be like a 1500-to-present survey course in western art history, which it was. It was really cool to see art by painters that I`ve studied and my favorite Georgia O`keeffe painting was there, which was really cool. I was stoked by the time we left. Culture isn`t so bad after all (but I still really miss Lagos).
Last night, we went out with a strange mix of people for tapas and out drinking. Our tapas weren`t quite what we expected (but we had great sangria and a cheese platter that was unbelievable) and we drank too much sangria and ended up leaving the bar by 2:30. After what we`ve been doing lately, that felt lamely early.
Boring blog, hey? We`re heading to Barcelona tonight...Hopefully that`ll compare to Lagos, but I somehow doubt it. It`s all downhill from here...(haha).
Love,
chelsea
Friday, September 15, 2006
What Happens in Lagos...
This is our friend Sommer the flight attendant and her Latin almost-lover, Felipe. If you heard him speak, you would understand why we left him a 75% tip.
Thats Kristine in her valliant effort to maneuvre Canada into third place in the International Beer Bong competition.
Thats the bartender making our fishbowl...
This is Kaje and I with our new Best Friend Forever Meryl from Britain. She was our comrade on our day with the Portugeuse Surf Nazi.
Paradise
And this doesnt even do it justice...Honestly, it is unbelievable. I am in love with this place.
I Heart Portugal
I positively cannot believe I am actually getting emails saying they want more blog entries...I am pretty flattered by that, since I really didnt (still cant figure out apostrophes on these keyboards) think anyone would actually read this thing.
So its day twelve and Kris and I are taking a much, much, MUCH needed down day. Its really our first one since we arrived in Europe and the last few days have been mayhem. I dont think I ever wrote from Lisbon, so Ill start there...
We loved Lisbon. After Porto was a big disappointment, we were way into Lisbon´s cool atmosphere. I find it really, really difficult to pinpoint what I liked so much about it. Our hostel was fantastic and we met a WestJet flight attendant from Calgary, Sommer, about five minutes after we arrived, and we spent most of our time there with her. We spent most of our time in Lisbon just wandering around and doing nothing that would interest anyone reading...It was really, really muggy and hot. Our last night was probably our best one in Lisbon. After eating at non-authentic Portugeuse restaurants for days (Kaje and I took some time to get our appetites back and every time we ordered something, we got something very unexpected and often very unappetizing) we went out for a legit Portugeuse dinner with Sommer. We sat on the big main promenade in a sidewalk restaurant and had a budget-busting seafood dinner made in copper plates..very authentic and delicious. We also killed three bottles of wine and tried to help Sommer pick up Felipe, a waiter Sommer had met days before and partied with. He was about the most charming and attractive (in a Id-never-like-you-in-Canada-Don-Juan kind of way) waiter Ive ever had so we left him an outrageous tip (on our final bottle of wine we tipped 75%...and tipping isnt customary in Portugal) but it didnt work. He walked us back to the hotel after dinner but he didnt stay...I guess the tip was a bit of waste, really.
So now we are in Lagos in the Algarve in Southern Portugal and it is absolutely amazing. I could honestly stay here forever. They say Lagos is like a black hole--it sucks people in and doesnt let them go and I think this is true because nearly everyone weve met here stayed extra nights. Kris and I have added two nights to our already-lengthy four-night stay. The coast is absolutely beautiful, with the most gorgeous little grottoes with cute little beaches with perfect sand. The colors of the water in these little coves is indescribable. It is heaven. Today Im nursing a couple weird patches of sunburn (the sun is still really strong) and am staying away from the beach, but it is really hard.
Were staying at a hostel called Carlos House, which is honestly part of the reason why so many people stay so long. It is the most social hostel Ive ever been in. It has this rooftop terrace where everyone congregates and drinks before going out together. Its really nice. the first night, we just went to the beach and drank and hung out. Kaje and I met some really cool Australian boys (actually I think there are probably more Australian guys around here than Portugeuse)...The next night and last night, we went out to bars and partied until 4 in these packed tiny little bars that are like the size of the average bedroom. We had a blast dancing and drinking these enormous 10-person drinks in huge fishbowls with three-foot long straws. Last night, Kris and some other Canadians did Canada proud by doing a beerbong to win points for Canada on this board. She looked like she was going to die while she was doing it, but she pulled through. I dont think Ive ever been so proud. (haha). Dont worry, there are pictures.
Eurokris is really kicking it into high gear...I have on nights and off nights, but she is off to a running start.
Wow this is getting really really long...One more story. We went surfing the other day--Kris, this rad British girl Meryl, and I with this surf school called Fun Ride. This Portugeuse guy (Paul) and a guy from California (Mikey) came and picked us up in Lagos and took us to the West Coast, where the best surfing is, and gave us a lesson. It was really fun but a really weird day. Paul was a bit of a Nazi as far as surf instructors go. He was really lacking in the positive reinforcement department, and we had to do TONS of practice on the beach before we got to go in the water and he kept barking "Again!" and getting really frustrated with us and telling us that we obviously hadnt listened to shit. We all thought that we were doing alright and we were having fun (although we had to hold our surfboards out of the water and go one at a time for a long time in crashing surf and it was sooo tiring) but he told us were shit..Literally, on the way home I told the girls that I was proud of us (we all got up by the end of the day, but only briefly because we were in shallow water) but Paul informed us that we were shit surfers. At the end of the day, it was freezing and windy and we got changed and were standing around in our bathing suits and they just disappeared and started cooking sardines on this grill behind their hut. We went back to warm up and they ignored us for two hours and talked in Portugeuse and didnt make any mention of taking us home. They gave us sardines though, which were surprisingly really good once you got past the removing the innards and all that. It was strange, because it really didnt have the makings of a good day but it was actually was a fantastic one.
Wow this has gotten really long, and there is still so much more to say. Is anyone still actually reading? To sum up--Portugal is great fun and beautiful and I dont want to leave...But we are headed to Madrid after a couple more days on the beach.
So its day twelve and Kris and I are taking a much, much, MUCH needed down day. Its really our first one since we arrived in Europe and the last few days have been mayhem. I dont think I ever wrote from Lisbon, so Ill start there...
We loved Lisbon. After Porto was a big disappointment, we were way into Lisbon´s cool atmosphere. I find it really, really difficult to pinpoint what I liked so much about it. Our hostel was fantastic and we met a WestJet flight attendant from Calgary, Sommer, about five minutes after we arrived, and we spent most of our time there with her. We spent most of our time in Lisbon just wandering around and doing nothing that would interest anyone reading...It was really, really muggy and hot. Our last night was probably our best one in Lisbon. After eating at non-authentic Portugeuse restaurants for days (Kaje and I took some time to get our appetites back and every time we ordered something, we got something very unexpected and often very unappetizing) we went out for a legit Portugeuse dinner with Sommer. We sat on the big main promenade in a sidewalk restaurant and had a budget-busting seafood dinner made in copper plates..very authentic and delicious. We also killed three bottles of wine and tried to help Sommer pick up Felipe, a waiter Sommer had met days before and partied with. He was about the most charming and attractive (in a Id-never-like-you-in-Canada-Don-Juan kind of way) waiter Ive ever had so we left him an outrageous tip (on our final bottle of wine we tipped 75%...and tipping isnt customary in Portugal) but it didnt work. He walked us back to the hotel after dinner but he didnt stay...I guess the tip was a bit of waste, really.
So now we are in Lagos in the Algarve in Southern Portugal and it is absolutely amazing. I could honestly stay here forever. They say Lagos is like a black hole--it sucks people in and doesnt let them go and I think this is true because nearly everyone weve met here stayed extra nights. Kris and I have added two nights to our already-lengthy four-night stay. The coast is absolutely beautiful, with the most gorgeous little grottoes with cute little beaches with perfect sand. The colors of the water in these little coves is indescribable. It is heaven. Today Im nursing a couple weird patches of sunburn (the sun is still really strong) and am staying away from the beach, but it is really hard.
Were staying at a hostel called Carlos House, which is honestly part of the reason why so many people stay so long. It is the most social hostel Ive ever been in. It has this rooftop terrace where everyone congregates and drinks before going out together. Its really nice. the first night, we just went to the beach and drank and hung out. Kaje and I met some really cool Australian boys (actually I think there are probably more Australian guys around here than Portugeuse)...The next night and last night, we went out to bars and partied until 4 in these packed tiny little bars that are like the size of the average bedroom. We had a blast dancing and drinking these enormous 10-person drinks in huge fishbowls with three-foot long straws. Last night, Kris and some other Canadians did Canada proud by doing a beerbong to win points for Canada on this board. She looked like she was going to die while she was doing it, but she pulled through. I dont think Ive ever been so proud. (haha). Dont worry, there are pictures.
Eurokris is really kicking it into high gear...I have on nights and off nights, but she is off to a running start.
Wow this is getting really really long...One more story. We went surfing the other day--Kris, this rad British girl Meryl, and I with this surf school called Fun Ride. This Portugeuse guy (Paul) and a guy from California (Mikey) came and picked us up in Lagos and took us to the West Coast, where the best surfing is, and gave us a lesson. It was really fun but a really weird day. Paul was a bit of a Nazi as far as surf instructors go. He was really lacking in the positive reinforcement department, and we had to do TONS of practice on the beach before we got to go in the water and he kept barking "Again!" and getting really frustrated with us and telling us that we obviously hadnt listened to shit. We all thought that we were doing alright and we were having fun (although we had to hold our surfboards out of the water and go one at a time for a long time in crashing surf and it was sooo tiring) but he told us were shit..Literally, on the way home I told the girls that I was proud of us (we all got up by the end of the day, but only briefly because we were in shallow water) but Paul informed us that we were shit surfers. At the end of the day, it was freezing and windy and we got changed and were standing around in our bathing suits and they just disappeared and started cooking sardines on this grill behind their hut. We went back to warm up and they ignored us for two hours and talked in Portugeuse and didnt make any mention of taking us home. They gave us sardines though, which were surprisingly really good once you got past the removing the innards and all that. It was strange, because it really didnt have the makings of a good day but it was actually was a fantastic one.
Wow this has gotten really long, and there is still so much more to say. Is anyone still actually reading? To sum up--Portugal is great fun and beautiful and I dont want to leave...But we are headed to Madrid after a couple more days on the beach.
The photos are coming soon...I am uploading them to Shutterfly right now and it is taking YEARS.
Love,
Chels
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Novelty bars, trash cans, and burning hair
So that last blog entry was dated wrong, obviously...I don´t know how to change it.
So now Kaje (Kristine for those of you who have never heard me call her that) and I are in Porto, Portugal after a really hectic couple days. The night of our last full day in London (two days ago--the day I wrote that last entry) was pretty crazy. We met three guys from Ontario in our hotel bar and hung out with them and their two friends from Barcelona. It was cheap (well, cheap for London) beer night, so they drank lots and lots of beer and I drank lots of G&T and we ended up going to Cheers, a novelty bar based on the TV show. Seriously, don´t ask me why in a city of traditional British pubs, we ended up at one very, very loosely based on an American sit-com, but we did...This Cheers turns into a full-on techno-playing disco at 10:30 on Tuesday nights though, so even with all the pictures of Norm and Cliff and Cheers quotes on the walls, it didn´t really accomplish the effect it was going for. Anyway, the craziest thing that happened was that we leaned in to take a picture of the five of us in the booth and my hair dipped into a candle and started on fire. I didn´t actually notice but this guy Matt had to put it out with his hand and Kris says there was actual flame. It was a very expensive and very debauched night, I lost a chunk of hair (not noticeable unless you´re looking for it) and I was very, very sick the following day. As in, I threw up in various trash cans around the city in broad daylight as well as over the railing into the Thames River. Can´t say I have ever done that before. It was an awful, awful day and Kaje and I have both agreed to dial it down a bit...for now.
Last night some girls from Germany arrived in the middle of the night and apparently I sleepwalked to their side of the room and, according to Kaje, tried to help them put their sheets on their bed. I don´t know if I believe her though because when I asked these girls if that were true, they looked really confused. But Kaje thinks that´s because they don´t know what sleep-walking is.
So we had a very mellow and introspective day today, sitting by the river in Porto and wandering around. Porto is pretty, but not really an ideal spot for young, cheap tourists...so we´re going to head to Lisbon tomorrow.
I´ll post some pictures really soon. The computer I´m on right now is archaic and I think it would take years.
Love,
Chelsea
So now Kaje (Kristine for those of you who have never heard me call her that) and I are in Porto, Portugal after a really hectic couple days. The night of our last full day in London (two days ago--the day I wrote that last entry) was pretty crazy. We met three guys from Ontario in our hotel bar and hung out with them and their two friends from Barcelona. It was cheap (well, cheap for London) beer night, so they drank lots and lots of beer and I drank lots of G&T and we ended up going to Cheers, a novelty bar based on the TV show. Seriously, don´t ask me why in a city of traditional British pubs, we ended up at one very, very loosely based on an American sit-com, but we did...This Cheers turns into a full-on techno-playing disco at 10:30 on Tuesday nights though, so even with all the pictures of Norm and Cliff and Cheers quotes on the walls, it didn´t really accomplish the effect it was going for. Anyway, the craziest thing that happened was that we leaned in to take a picture of the five of us in the booth and my hair dipped into a candle and started on fire. I didn´t actually notice but this guy Matt had to put it out with his hand and Kris says there was actual flame. It was a very expensive and very debauched night, I lost a chunk of hair (not noticeable unless you´re looking for it) and I was very, very sick the following day. As in, I threw up in various trash cans around the city in broad daylight as well as over the railing into the Thames River. Can´t say I have ever done that before. It was an awful, awful day and Kaje and I have both agreed to dial it down a bit...for now.
Last night some girls from Germany arrived in the middle of the night and apparently I sleepwalked to their side of the room and, according to Kaje, tried to help them put their sheets on their bed. I don´t know if I believe her though because when I asked these girls if that were true, they looked really confused. But Kaje thinks that´s because they don´t know what sleep-walking is.
So we had a very mellow and introspective day today, sitting by the river in Porto and wandering around. Porto is pretty, but not really an ideal spot for young, cheap tourists...so we´re going to head to Lisbon tomorrow.
I´ll post some pictures really soon. The computer I´m on right now is archaic and I think it would take years.
Love,
Chelsea
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