ode to lovely

hello neighbor

Moving on to Lisbon and Sinra.

Lisbon was such an interesting city. It kinda reminded me of San Fran. Lots of hills. A city by the water. And it even had a bridge that resembled the Golden Gate.

Belem was such an old historic part of Lisbon. This picture is of the Tower of Belem. To the left of it, picture the Golden Gate-esq bridge. And behind it is a beautiful park, with restaurants and lots of benches where you can sit, have some coffee, and people watch.

And the best part of Belem...their pastries. You cannot visit Lisbon without trying these things. I don't know what they were called, but I can assure you that they are goooood.

Sintra was about a half hour train ride outside of Lisbon. It's so picturesque and is home to several castles and palaces. This one was called Pena Palace. It was an intense up-hill hike to get here, but the views of Sintra from up here were breathtaking.

And because I get bored of traditional tourist shots. There were many self portraits. Most of them with stupid faces and/or ridiculous expressions.

Some tree-climbing.

And tons, and I mean TONS of jumping shots. One of these days I'm going to make a book of all my jumping shots around the world. I don't know why I love them so much, but I do. 

Off to happy hour. I'm craving a margarita. Hope you enjoyed my journey through Portugal.

one city at a time

So I figured since I have a shit ton of pics, that I would split them up by city. So, we will start with my first stop, which was Sevilla, Spain. Soooooo here's a litle something about my city love.

Horses. They can be found everywhere. Most specifically by the cathedral and the city center. It's mostly a touristy thing to do. I've never done it.  Costs too many euros.

Alfonso XIII. The nicest hotel is Sevilla. Built in the 1920s. Moorish style. Beautiful. Elegant. And extremely expensive. I would suggest going in to look around. And maybe grabbing a drink at the bar. But staying here is only for the rich and famous.

Parks and orange trees. Sevilla is very green. Parks on many corners where you can people watch, relax, and find ways to keep yourself entertained, perhaps even in a childish manner. And orange trees are everywhere. It gives the city a distinct and lovely smell in the spring. But don't eat the orages. They are bitter and will leave a bad taste in your mouth. And yes that is a huge orange tree in the background. Pretty, right?

Moving on to Feria, which is a week long party that occurs exactly two weeks after Holy Week. It is one crazy, beautiful, never ending party. Day and night, night and day. It is the essence of this city.

The women dress up in traditional Sevillana dresses. The men always wear suits and dress to impress. I wore one of these dresses when I was there four years ago. They are so flattering and make you look like you have a killer ass, even if you don't have one. 

The Portada. It is the main entrance to Feria. And it changes every year. It is always huge and will always have flags with Sevilla's motto.

Tents and more tents. Traditionally known as casetas. And there are hundreds of them. They are owned by different families for several generations. They are private and all have guards at the door to prohibit non-family and friends from coming in. The key is getting in. The public ones aren't as fun and it's in the private ones that you can see the true meaning of the Feria. Sevillanas are danced 24 hours a day. Drinks flow constantly. And it is a sight to see. Notice how everyone, even the five year old, is dressed to the nines?

You are never too young to put on a sevillana dress and drink some beer.

And never too old either.

 

Ok, that's all for now. Next time I hope to appear in a picture or two. I leave you with one of my favorites from the entire trip. Happy Friday.

estoy aqui

Home. And missing my sister. And wishing my parents would have given me more brothers and sisters, just like her. But then again, I'd have to miss more people once I left.

Things I've done today:

• Unpacked
• Laundry
• Catching up on blogs
• Listening to some tunes, since my ipod broke when I was there.
• Uploading 600 pics
• Figuring which pics I want to post
• Catching up on Facebook
• Making dinner plans for Friday
• Gmail and Gchat
• Phone calls with best friends
• Dancing with my Sevillanas video
• Loving unemployment

It's good to be home. Even though my to-do list is ten miles long. And my body is still on Euro time. Be back soon with some recap pics. And maybe something creative. Because man, do I miss paper and glue.

last mango in paradise

I am approaching my last 24 hours here. It is bittersweet. Words can´t describe what I´m feeling.

I had a minor panic attack yesteday. The words "panic attack" weren´t even in my vocabulary until a month ago. I hope they go away soon because I am not a fan of them.

Back to reality soon.  Hope all is well with you.

la di da

A quickie post:

• I am in Madrid, with my family. Nothing like eating home cooked, spanish meals.
• I miss my sister already. I want to kidnap her and bring her to Taiwan with me.
• I am going to Salamanca tomorrow. Super sweet. One more city on my ¨Places I´ve Been¨map.
• I really miss scrapbooking. And art. And quilting. And even blogs. I will catch up on all of the above in a few days.
• I love that Spanish keyboards have the `ñ´included. Makes writing emails home quite convenient.
• I am having homemade paella on Sunday. With the big old shrimps, that still have the heads attached. I know to some that is gross. But I say YUM.
• I am addicted to Facebook. It is a sickness. Damn you Stacey for making me join.
• I am going to go dance Sevillanas now. Along with my aunt. And some how-to videos. I´m so excited I´m about to burst. Off I go...whee!

telephone, pass it on

I feel like a wise hen lately. Passing on words of wisdom to those who are currently walking in the shoes I wore four years ago. I see all these early 20 somethings, studying in Sevilla, and I can´t help but look back on my experience here...as well as all that has happened since living here.

I have always said that one of my life´s biggest regrets was getting on the plane, June 1 2004, to come home from this experience. But at the same time, coming home taught me so much too. I really felt out of place upon arriving home.  I felt that I had changed so much but that everything and everyone had stayed the same. And even though I hated being home at first, it also taught me that I wanted to leave home again. And I am now, even more so than a week ago, more certain that I am ready to embark on this crazy Taiwan adventure.

I´m off to enjoy my last 4 hours here in Sevilla. I might cry when I leave. Hopefully it won´t take me 4 years to come back to this city that will forever have my heart.  Adios guapas!

im a dancing queen

I love to dance. I dance all day long. For no good reason.

So of course yesterday, as we are hiking down from the Pena Palace in Sintra, I start to dance. And I trip. And I stumble. And I laugh. And my sister laughs. And a few random spectators laugh. But of course I just continue to dance, through my silly laughter. And this dude with a video camera thought it would be a good idea to video tape me dancing. And so he did. And Im sure he will show all his friends back home about that stupid silly girl that was dancing at some palace in Sintra.

And that my friends, is my story for the day.

the life of the tourist is not easy

If you have ever traveled in Europe, or anywhere really, then you would know that the life of the tourist is definitely complicated. Sleepless nights. Language barriers. Walking with your nose stuck to a map. And even blogging can be difficult when the keyboard is set to write in Portuguese.

Yes, I said Portuguese. Because Erika and I are now in Lisbon.

After a sleepless midnight bus ride, we arrived to a very chilly bus station in the middle of nowhere. To make things worse, we got dropped off at 4:45am and the metro didn't even open until 6:30am.  Lets just say that my ass is still recovering from the cold pavement floor I sat on while patiently waiting for the metro station to open.

Currently my sister is passed out on the couch, right under a sign that says "no sleeping on the couch" as I stand guard and secretly type away at some forbiden internet station.  But what can I say...I love this shit. I love the random stories we already have. The funny people have met along the way. And the memories that will last me a lifetime. I love being a crazy tourist.

four years plays tricks on your memory

Things that I had forgotten about Spaniards:

• That they always dress to impress. I was the only one from my Madrid-Sevilla flight wearing sweat pants. And worse of all they were purple, and yes, I looked like Barney.
• How to order tapas. I forgot that it's every man for themselves and if you don't speak up that you'll just stay hungry forever.
• That Spanish women ALWAYS wear heels. I've seen three year olds wearing kitten heels and rocking them proudly. I guess they are bred to be two to four inches taller than they really are.
• That the men are GORGEOUS. Love their look. Even the mullet does it for me. Love at first sight is not uncommon here.
• That manchego cheese tastes better here, than the one I get from Costco. There is no comparison. Man, is it gooooooood.
• That your purse should match your shoes, should match your wallet, should match your earrings, should match your nail polish, should match your fucking underwear. Matching is crooosh.
• That wine and coke is delicious. The cheaper the better. And drinks taste better after 2am, no matter what you're drinking.
• That bocadillos melt in your mouth. And olive oil is used on EVERYTHING.
• And that this city is the best city in the world. Ok, I already knew that. But as soon as I got off the plane, I loved this place even more. In the words of my new friend, who resembles Ari from Entourage, "where else in the world can you smoke, drink, and "follar" like you do here?" I couldn't agree more. 

not as planned

I keep telling people, "my life is crazy right now." And frankly, crazy doesn't begin to cut it.

The events of the last week have really taken a toll on me, but at the same time, have also taught me some valuable life lessons. 

1. Packing up your entire life and sending it across the world is a shit ton of work. 2. Going to work on your last day is not a good idea. And 3. You really realize who your true friends are during the intense moments that life throws at you.

The sad thing is that I am not even excited about my trip to Sevilla right now. My plane takes off in a few hours and the only feelings I have are of anxiety, stress, and disappointment. I really hope that once I get on the plane that my troubles will slowly disappear. And I will remember that I'm going to my most favorite city ever. And I will be happy at the thought of eating serrano ham and manchego cheese. And maybe dancing some Sevillanas will take me back to a time when stress didn't exist in my life.

Leaving on a jet plane people. Have a good two weeks.

coming soon

I wanted to post this tonight  but I'm having a hard time photographing the rest of it. Maybe the morning will bring better lighting. And possibly some patience too. Stay tuned.

come monday, it'll be alright

My last monday at work. One week ago, I was telling my boss that I quit. This monday, I am working my ass off in order to leave a last good impression. Mannnn,the things I have to do in order to score some recommendation letters.

I've been troubled by the fact that after saturday I'm going to have to say farewell to scrapbooking for a while. All my nerdy scrap shit will be on a boat to china (literally) for approximately 6-8 weeks. Maybe the scrap hiatus will be good. Maybe I will hate it. But somehow, someway, I will find a way to create art while visiting España next week. I know as long as I have my tombo and a hole punch, it'll be alright.