Days 123-125: And the trip begins!

     Our trip has officially started and so far so great! Saturday morning we had a lovely breakfast with my friends Kelsey, Trevor, Jody, Chuck, Ally, and Rebecca to send us off in style, it's the hardiest breakfast I've had in a while and oh man was it good! Pancakes, eggs, strawberries, bacon, and mimosa's made for a great send off, we even made it to the airport early with all that extra energy only to find out that my friend Joni would be taking the same flight as us all the way to London Gatwick.

      After a short flight from Sevilla to London we parted ways with Joni and hopped our trains all the way to Cookham, UK. A few connections and an hour later we found ourselves pulling up to the station in quiet little Cookham. We were welcomed on the platform by our hostesses for the weekend, the lovely Laura Wall and her oh-so-grown up daughter Addison; Steven and Barclay were back at the house cooking up some dinner. The Walls' have moved temporarily to England, but they're originally family friends from the hood in Greensboro, I think they're adapting quite well to life here in the UK as Laura and Steven both are pros at driving on the left hand side (something I still get confused with when crossing the street). Laura took us on a quick driving tour of all the little villages near by, some of which were so small that you'd zip by them if you weren't paying attention.

      We spent the evening eating dinner together then we did a pub circuit to the local watering hole's: The Jolly Farmer and Uncle Tom's Cabin (not of that fame....). We tried a few pints of the local ales (which weren't too warm), and hung out with the locals who were having a fancy dress party (aka costume party) to celebrate a couple of birthdays. Rebecca and I were quite exhausted from traveling all day, so the quiet evening with Laura and Steven was absolutely perfect.

       The next morning after breakfast Addison took Rebecca and I on a hike up to the vista point that over looks the hills and towns below. Although the gray clouds looked threatening, we managed to escape the rain and we all took turns frolicking through the fields at the top of the hill (there is video evidence I promise....). After our hike Laura and the kids drove us to near-by Windsor to drop us off.
      Windsor is the town that houses Windsor Castle, a favorite resident of the Queen herself who just happened to be in residence at the time of our tour. We didn't see any sign of her, aside from the flag that marked that she was in, but she was kind enough to allow us on the property and so we weren't too offended that she didn't invite us in for tea. The Castle is enormous and incredibly lavish, almost overwhelmingly so. After touring the castle we walked around the town, took a stroll down the Long Walk, at some pasties, and before we knew it Steven was there to pick us up.

      The rest of Sunday we headed over to a smaller town called Marlow where we walked around, took the backstreets, and watched a match of cricket. That night we had another delicious meal cooked by Steven and were the cheering section for the kids. It was so great to be able to hang out with the entire Wall family, the two kids are growing up so fast and have already mastered the English accent (watch out Broadway, Addison is headed your way). I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to experience quiet English countryside living with such fabulous family friends, I wish we could have stayed longer, Laura really knows how to show guests a good time!

       So I'll end this post with a much too brief thank-you to Laura, Steven, Addison, and Barclay for giving us the best start to our trip that we could have hoped for. Although our stay was short, you all really gave us some great insight into what your life is like there in Cookham, I feel so so so lucky to know you all!

       Monday we said our good-byes and headed off by train to Kings Cross station where we would catch our EastCoast rail to Edinburgh. More to come about that, Scotland has been a real treat with visits in Edinburgh and, my favorite, the Isle of Skye. Also soon to come will be some photos, the computer here at the Castle Rock Hostel isn't liking my memory card so my plans to upload aren't going so well, check back soon for photos of the trip so far. We head to Prague this afternoon!

Day 122: The Gear for the Trip

The Pack and The Gear

So this is what all is going on the trip:

And this is what it looks like when it's in my backpack:

Weight: ~10kg

For any of you gear nerds wondering what kind of pack that is, it's an Osprey Talon 44 (they better pay me for that advertisement), I have clothes for 4-5 days and plan on doing laundry in every new city, I have my dslr two lens kit, three pairs of shoes, toiletries, journal, maps, and sound recorder along with a few other knick knacks like playing cards, rain cover, etc. We'll see if I brought too much or not enough here in the next few days.....

The final days of Sevilla

          Rebecca has arrived as you might have seen from my last post, since that moment I've been busy with hanging out with her, planning the last bit of our trip, studying for finals, and trying to take in Sevilla as much as possible. The only trouble with the last one has been the suppressing heat wave that we've been enduring for the past week, the temperatures have soared unexpectedly, so much so that I have seen a rating of 47ºC on some of the thermometers (116ºF). We went from a pleasant spring to hot-hot-hot way too quickly for my liking, something that has required a severe and quick adaptation to the spanish way of siestas, and finally learning the bus system to avoid walking in the afternoon heat.
         On Thursday night Erin had a despedida (going away party) where we all had a chance to hang out, eat some tapas, drink some tinto, and enjoy each others' company for one of our last times here in Sevilla. I can't begin to explain how grateful I am for each and every person in this group that I've grown close to this semester, luckily I'll be seeing many of them on the other side of the pond and very soon.
         Last Friday was the last time for me to hang out with Ramon, Manolo, Manuel, and the rest of the Sevilla bluegrass crowd that I mentioned in an earlier post. I was elated to be able to share that experience with Rebecca as well as with everyone who followed my wild goose chase to the bar which includes Kelsey, Trevor, Rose, Joni, Sabrina, Erin, Jennie, and Jenna. Both Rebecca and myself had the chance to hop up on stage to play with the Surrounders, we have video to prove it but lack the internet connection to allow the upload so here's some photos:

       
           I had finals all this week and so Rebecca has taken to busking (playing in the streets) while I'm at school or studying as a means of entertainment (she's also been doing some touring too):

Cookin' in the kitchen

          This semester we've had the semi-tradition of eating Sunday dinners together, we being Sabrina, Joni, Sam, and Erin so on Monday night (thanks to finals), we had our last dinner together at Rose's apartment in Alameda, I fried up some hot-water cornbread, there was salad, a delicious swordfish filet that Rose cooked, tinto de verano, and a bunch of other yummy snacks. After eating way too much food, we all went to sit in the plaza Alameda de Hercules to enjoy the evening breeze and to play a little music. We managed to make a few new friends along the way: 

While things were cooking Rebecca and I went up on the roof to take in the
beauty that is Sevilla at night.

This entire group of bikers and skaters stopped just long enough to hear Rebecca sing Long Black Veil.

          I wish I had more time to write about what's been going on this past week, but since our flight for London leaves tomorrow afternoon, I'm a little pressed for time at the moment. I am so excited to have Rebecca here with me and to share Sevilla with her. We're about to embark on a truly unique adventure in just about 24 hours and I'm glad to have her by my side through all of these experiences. For now I'm just about packed up here in the Contreras household (my host family), lucky for me I will see them in June since Gumer is letting me keep my big suitcase, guitar, and banjo at the house while we're traveling for 3 weeks. 

          Today is our going away reception for my university, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, which is being held here in Sevilla at the local amusement park: Isla Mágica. It's going to be a good evening full of rides, fun, and goodbyes', I'm hoping the heat will stay away long enough for us to be able to enjoy being outside. After that I'll have my final dinner with the whole family (Jenna leaves tomorrow at 4:30am-yikes!), do some final packing and attempt to sleep a little before my alarm goes off at 7:30am. 

          We're embarking in style as Trevor and Kelsey have come up with the genius idea of having a full blown breakfast to send everyone off, complete with mimosa's, pancakes, and eggs. The first place I stayed in Sevilla will be the last place I leave tomorrow (at least until I come back on June 11th).

          So here's the final paragraph, the one that's supposed to be filled with wistful wisdom talking about all that I've learned, the things I'll miss, my favorite places I won't be seeing....but c'mon now, there's no time! I've got a bag to pack, people to see, and a roller coaster to ride- no time for such sappiness! Check back here over the next few weeks for some bits and pieces of our adventure around Europe, for now here's a summary of what's to come in the next 26 days:

May 19th-London/Cookham, England and staying with the Walls!

May 21st- Edinburgh, Scotland

May 23rd- Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland, for a Fiddle and Accordion Festival

May 26th- Back to Edinburgh, going to a ceilidh (scottish country dance) on Saturday

May 28th- Fly to Prague, Czech Republic, (there is talk of going to the gypsy music festival or the jazz festival)

June 2nd- Train to Berlin, Germany, staying with my friend Anna and hopefully getting to see Rose and Sabrina, as well as my friend Nora from high school.

June 6th- Fly to Barcelona, Spain

June 10th- my little brother Jesse graduates from high school (an important date in general, although I won't be there but I definitely will be thinking about how proud I am of my not-so-little little brother)

June 11th- Fly to Sevilla, Spain, staying with my friend Asha, taking in the last few days of Sevilla and hoping that we don't melt.

June 13th- Fly home at 6:30am (0030 EST), I'll be back in Greensboro by 10:30pm EST

All that in the next 26 days....whew.

Day 114: Rebecca Jones Has Arrived!

         That's right folks, she's here! Rebecca Jones made it here without a hitch and managed to come on the hottest day in Sevilla that I've seen yet. Day one and she's already a tapas eating pro, knows how to take a siesta, and even met my host parents! More updates to come as these last few days of my adventure in Sevilla draw to a close and as the almost 4 week adventure around Europe begins. ¡Hasta luego!

Where has the time gone?

          As you might image, with that last post being almost a month late, I've been rather busy these past few weeks. I've had an amazing and BUSY past few weeks with having Gillie come visit me, 10 days with my Mom, Dad, and Mebane during Feria de Abril in Sevilla and traveling to Ronda, Estepona, and Gibraltar, I've been planning and booking for my 3.5 week backpacking trip, going to a festival to celebrate Pete Seegers' birthday (where I got to play on a small stage), preparing for Rebecca's arrival (WHICH IS TOMORROW), and wrapping up all of my school work.
          That being said, I'm not sure how much time this next week and a half is going to leave me for catching up on my blog, if I have time to post details I will, but if not I hope that quick summary will suffice. I wish I had more time to write about everything above, especially the week that my parents came, but I can't make any promises.
          Rebecca and I have everything booked as far as transportation and accommodation go for our trip that starts on May 19th, all that's left is showing her around Sevilla, taking some exams, sharing these last few days with my friends here, printing our boarding passes, packing our bags, and we're off.

Semana Santa Part Two: Roadtrippin' Portugal

Erin and Sam...are we there yet?

Thumbs up for the best driver this side of the Atlantic!

           Our adventure began fairly early (9am) on Thursday of Semana Santa, we all met up (some of us later than others) and took the bus to the airport to pick up our sweet new rental, a 2007 Ford Fiesta. Fiesta we had indeed.

           We piled into the cute (and a bit small) manual drive, Rose was behind the wheel, I was riding shotgun, and Sam, Joni, & Erin sat in the cozy backseat. We set off without directions, just an urge for adventure, a full tank of gas, open road, and a general direction to head in (that is until Erin’s phone finally got service...then we MapQuest-ed it). 

Our destination: Lisbon, Portugal

           Our first stop was a cute little town called Faro. Really it was just an excuse to get out and stretch our legs, there wasn’t much to see, but it was a good break from the Fiesta. We saw a great street art mural, a little bit of the inter-coastal waterway, and grabbed some ice cream before hitting the road again. 

These kids have a knack for finding playgrounds

           Two and half hours later we rolled into Lisbon. Although we got a little turned around (partly my fault and partly the fault of Portugal for having really confusing road signs), we eventually found the apartment where we’d be CouchSurfing. Pedro, our host for the weekend, was still at work so we took the opportunity to walk around the neighborhood and found ourselves in a really neat little park just up the hill. 

           After playing on the playground and watching a great sunset we headed back to meet Pedro. Pedro was absolutely the greatest CouchSurfing host you could ever hope for. Not only is he sweet, welcoming, and excited to share his country with you, he also offered us one of the coolest apartments ever to stay in for the weekend. For free. All to ourselves. That’s right, thanks again to the amazing organization CouchSurfing, we got to meet this wonderful person and stayed in our own private top-floor penthouse. 

View from the terrace

Hanging in the living room, check out that cool mood lighting.

My bed hanging over Erin's and Rose's

           That night we went to eat at a really delicious Nepalese restaurant and I had the first spicy food since moving to Spain, something I’ve really missed. We ate spicy masala, drank the local beer called Sagres, tried Portugese almond liqueur and almond brandy, and had a great time getting to know Pedro, and although the bill was a little more than we had intended, it was all worth it. That night we stayed in and I slept in a very comfortable Brazilian hammock, which reminded me of how much I miss hanging in my ENO hammock!

           The next day we started our Friday morning with a café and a fresh baked pastry from the bakery on the street below us, it was our morning ritual for our entire time in Portugal since they made some delicious, cheap, and fresh pastries. I tried a new one (or two) everyday!

Pedro sitting with us on a wall over looking one of the beaches
in Cascais.

Just sittin' on another wall in Cascais

It was a little windy...

Aren't they just precious? L-R Rose, Joni, Sam, & Erin

Just around the corner from the surf competition

Watching the surf competition, friends in the foreground,
Cabo da Roca in the background, sky above, and sand below.
It's a good way to be!

           Pedro, who aside from being a great host and a dental technician, spends some of his time working for a tour guide company called We Hate Tourism Tours (check out this awesome video of him: Costas) which means he knows the best of the best. He drove us to a beach town called Cascais where we walked around, sat on some walls enjoying the ocean view, ate the best mango and coconut gelato this side of Italy, and took in some sun. From there we sat on the beach and watched a surf competition before driving up to the most western point of continental Europe: Cabo da Roca. 

Joni on her perch

If you squint really hard I swear you can see the US....

Mmm fresh roadside Pão com chouriço da praia...

           My goodness was this a beautiful place to be, we got there just in time to see a rainbow arcing over the hills as the rain passed by us. We stayed in the beautiful spot atop the cliffs of Portugal until it was just about sunset, from there Pedro drove us through a really cool town called Sintra before driving us down the scenic route on the way towards ‘home’, but not before stopping at a road-side choripan stand for a hot and fresh baked treat. Choripan, to describe it simply, is fresh bread stuffed with chorizo which is then baked in a wood-fire oven. A simple and delicious snack for the ride back to the penthouse. 

MMMM, SOOO GOOD!

           That night we cooked our own dinner in Pedro’s parents’ apartment and hung around our sweet penthouse (see how I keep using that word? It’s to make sure you know how awesome it was...). Ah yes, our penthouse with it’s rooftop view, good friends, comfy furniture and really chic mood lighting. There we ate our dinner and drank our drinks for a bit while playing some card games. The chicas and Pedro had decided to go out, but seeing as it was very late, I decided it was in the best interest of the group for me to hang back (well that and I had my awesome Brazilian hammock to look forward to).

           The next day we started our afternoon with another pastry stop in the bottom floor bakery before taking on Lisbon itself. We hopped in our Fiesta and headed towards town, riding around a few roundabouts before finally deciding on a place to park. 

A fixer upper you might say

Walking downtown isn't complete without some pigeon chasing.

One of the many politically charged pieces of street art.

The urban decay is quite prevalent throughout Lisbon,
their economy is one of the worst in the EU, second only to Greece.

A Ginjha, a liqueur made from ginja berries.

           We walked around Lisbon for a few hours, we didn’t have an itinerary which means every corner was a surprise. I really enjoyed walking around Lisbon, once you get to the center it’s pretty easy to find the popular attractions. We managed to get a taste of the local liqueur A Ginjinha, made from sour cherries, while sitting by a fountain in front of the National Theatre D. Maria II. There we managed to see a really funny commercial being filmed in the middle of the plaza, they had a guy trying to give his lines to a camera while being suspended in the air, they ran into trouble as they lowered him because he would keep spinning around so they’d re-shoot it. 

Poor guy...
(check out the elevator in the right corner)

           From there off we went to check out the Santa Justa Elevator, walk through the Triumphal arch that opened up to the Praça do Comercio, which then led to the seaside view of the orange suspension bridge called the 25th of April Bridge where we sat a minute to enjoy the sunset.

           To finish off our stroll around Lisbon we decided to seek out some piri-piri chicken, as per Erin’s suggestion. Oh what a great suggestion it was. Piri-piri chicken is barbecued chicken that is covered with a delightfully spicy sauce made from chili pepper, it isn’t too hot, but just enough. It’s a delicious and typical Portuguese fare. After dinner we headed back to the apartment for a relatively quiet night of cards and hanging out. 

           The next morning we had our final pastry in our ‘regular spot’, by the last day the waitress had an idea of who we were and was really great about being patient with explaining the different types of pastries in Portuguese, something that I swear sounds more like russian than spanish. 

Rose writing some post cards after breakfast.

           Before packing up the car and heading out we had to make our mark on the lovely penthouse. Pedro has been a couch surfer and host for quite some time and so he’s started the tradition of having each surfer make their mark on his wall with paint and sharpie. We made sure to not go without making our own unique mark over his door, a handprint arch that was made extra awesome by Joni, the artist of our group.

I'm acting as if I was falling off the roof...appropriate face I think

           After we gathered everything and cleaned up, it was time to say goodbye to our new friend Pedro. Pedro, if you’re reading this, we’d like to say thank you so very much for being such an open and giving person. You really showed us a great time and I hope to one day return that favor if you ever make it to good ole NC. Obrigada!

Fiesta on the ferry!

           Off we went back to Sevilla, but not before taking the long way along the coast for some quick beach hopping. Pedro also gives great directions to the best beaches in south Portugal. Although we didn’t have the best weather, we still made the most of the time we had on the beach and soaked up some sun, tried our hand at casting messages in a bottle into the ocean (unfruitful attempts, but fun nonetheless), and Joni and Rose even went for a (very quick) swim. We hopped back in the car and made our way back home at a leisurely pace. We got into Sevilla around midnight and dropped the car off at the airport. 

           Sam and I walked back together from the bus stop to our neighborhood of Los Remedios. We stopped in the OpenCor for a sandwich and chips and sat on the Puente de San Telmo to eat. The sandwich wasn’t anything special, it was the company and singing to Moulin Rouge that made it the perfect ending to a great trip.

These crazy kids got in the chilly water...I stuck my feet in

           Portugal was so much fun, it’s sad to think that it’s the last trip we’ll all be taking together since these are our final weeks here in Sevilla. Our time together has been short but really sweet, I’m really glad that Joni, Erin, and Rose live so close and I don’t doubt that there will be some more road-tripping when we all get back on US soil to see Sam and Sabrina. 

Obrigada to Pedro and obrigada to my chicas for an amazing weekend!

A quick pit stop on the side of the road to check out
the pretty sunset and spanish countryside

Joni Ray you are beautiful!

Hooray for Rose!

Our handprint arch over Pedro's door