First part of Spring Break

Hello from Prague, Czech Republic! I have a some fun times and adventures over the past few days in 3 different countries. I have another week left of break but it's going to go fast.

On thursday, we left at 6pm to head to Madrid to meet Maren's brother, Taylor at the airport. We got there with little problem, and proceeded to find a place to stay for the night. We went to the cafe that is open for 24 hours planning on sleeping on the booths for the night. We ate our supper we had brought with. We unfortunately were sitting next to a table where a man was talking to a two women who seemed annoyed. After the women left, we realized that the man was drunk, and his brain seemed pretty much fried from drugs. He began to have angry conversations with the wall, and then a worker came over and made us leave because we were eating outside food. This was a blessing in disguise because it gave us an excuse to leave. We moved to the cafe that was closed and moved wooden chairs together to sleep on. That was much better than sleeping on the cold floor though not exactly comfortable. I got a few hours of sleep, and then Taylor arrived the next morning only a little delayed. We then put our bags in storage at the airport and took taylor to see the royal palace in madrid. We ate some lunch in the plaza de espana. Erin, Maren, and Taylor then just wanted to sit for the next hour and a half until it was time to go to the airport. That's a long time for me to sit... So I decided to take a walk. I walked around the plaza and then headed down Gran Via which is one of the main streets in Madrid. When I got back to the plaza, they all three were asleep. They had some interesting tan or should I say burn lines.

We got our bags at the airport and headed to get checked in. We had no problems with check in and proceeded to the gate to wait to board. We got in line to board, and when I get to the ticket taker she tells me to put my bag in the thing to make sure it wasn't to big. Flustered, and lifted it up to put it in. Without letting me flip it around to put it in, the lady said "it doesn't fit, you'll have to check it" in spanish. Now I'm furious because I know that it fits, and the man taking tickets tells her "she's american. she doesn't understand" in spanish. Obviously infuriated, I said in Spanish, "I can understand you". He seemed apologetic and I felt bad for snapping but I was not happy I was going to have to pay 30 euro to check the bag that would fit. So I pay the fee because they won't let me on the plane if I don't, and ask her where to set the bag to put it underneath. She said "on the plane". Confused I walked down the ramp. Halfway down I realized that I had just payed 30 euros to carry the bag on. Now I was mad almost to tears. So when I got on the plane and Maren saw I had by bag she gave me a thumbs up and then saw my face and was confused. The whole flight i wanted to cry from anger because I don't have the excess of money to be spending 30 euros every flight. I calmed down some by the time we landed in valencia. We then had the fun time of getting to our hostel. The streets in Valencia are just as confusing as in Caceres but we eventually made it. There weren't any stores open because it was late when we got there except for a produce market. So we bought some potatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, apples, oranges, and strawberries. In the kitchen in our hostel, we fried the potatoes, peppers, onions and garlic for supper. We had the strawberries for dessert. It was a very satisfying meal and fun to cook. I then took a much needed shower and went to bed.

The next day we went to the beach. The beach was fantastic. The sand was so fine it felt wonderful on our feet. We then headed to a store to buy food to cook for lunch. We went to the hostel and using the spanish version of the ingredients, made a quick version of the Cali spaghetti gravy. Everyone loved it. It didn't taste quite the same as when i make it at home but pretty close. Considering I made it in 45 minutes instead of 3 hours, I was proud. I stuffed my self to the brim. We cleaned up and everyone else fell asleep while I made plans for the rest of the trip. they slept for about 4 hours and by then it was dark. So we went to a bar called "New Orleans" and had traditional valencian Paella. It was great. We then headed back to the hostel and played cards until we were tired. I called Amanda from ISU on my computer because it was her birthday in Spain which it 7 hours ahead of CST. That was fun, and then I slept like a baby.

Sunday we got up and Maren and I made 11 sandwiches for food for the rest of the day. We then headed to the market where we bought gifts. We then went to the Oceanario which is the biggest aquarium in Europe. It was very fun and I felt like a little kid. The best part was the dolphin show. I was so happy afterwards I could stop smiling and skipping. Maren and I decided we were going to have a dolphin in our apartment next year. One interesting thing about the aquarium is that it's a part of a big complex of buildings called the city of arts and sciences. However, there is a lot of construction going on because they still haven't finished building it all yet. We could see the aquarium but there were no signs so trying to get to it was interesting. I decided that the Spanish just decided to forget the signs because they enjoy watching us from their balconies walking back and forth trying to figure out how to get places. They streets are just as poorly marked. After the aquarium, we ate a picnic lunch and then went to the hostel to pick up our things. We then headed to the airport for our flight to London. I was praying I wouldn't have to pay extra on this flight.

When we got to the airport we got in line to check in. Maren and I both passed the size text so that was a relief...until she made us weigh them. I knew mine was too heavy but I had never had it weighed before on Ryan Air flights. Maren's was even heavier than mine. So she said we had to check them. I refused to pay more and said I'd take stuff out. So Maren and I left the line. I took out my laptop and sandals and gave them to erin to hold for me. Maren gave her brother some stuff. We got back in line and passed the weight and got our boarding passes. She then told us "they will weigh them at the gate too." Secretly both having heart attacks, we just both smiled and said ok. When we got back to Taylor and Erin we informed them of our predicament. So we figured out that we had around 40 kg of stuff between the 4 of us and that we could split it evenly and just barely all make it through. We also stuffed as much stuff as possible into our coats. We get into the line through customs to board the plane. I was extremely nervous and by the time I had made it through customs and it was time to have my ticket taken, I was on the verge of having a panic attack. And guess what? The same women that told us they would weigh them again was there but they didn't weigh them. She wouldn't even look at Maren and I. She lied and almost sent me into a panic attack. I was not pleased but I calmed down on the plane and it was a very enjoyable flight. We landed in London and got on the express train to the actual city of London. When we got to the train station in London we went to get on the metro...it was closed because it was after midnight. Frustrated and tired we finally figured out what bus to take. We had a half hour to wait and we were starving and cold. So we went to McDonald's, the only place open and I had a big mac meal with a cup of coffee. We got on the bus and now i'm hyper off of coffee. So i kept saying all the shop names and street names in a british accent. Maren didn't know whether to laugh or kill me. We got to Hammersmith, the part where our hostel was located, but there were multiple stops. I got off on the first one and erin asked if i was sure and i said that i had no idea. She didnt' like that answer so they decided to ask the bus driver who told us the wrong thing so we went on and got off at the next stop. We then wandered and wandered until we located the hostel and found that we should have gotten off where I thought. Always stick to your instincts.

Now really exhausted, we got checked in and found Maren's friend, Miriam, already asleep in the room. Miriam is studying in Sweden and met us in London to travel with us. We also found in our room that there weren't enough beds. There were 3 beds open for 4 people. So really annoyed Maren and I went down to talk to the management. They were extremely helpful and came up to resolve the issue. Well it turned out that there were enough beds but the man who's stuff was in the top bunk was so drunk, he could get into his bunk and had passed out in the bottom bunk which was one of our beds. When we got up there he had gotten up to go to the bathroom and came back in very angry. The manager helped us get it all worked out and he changed the sheets where the man had passed out. That's where I slept. Utterly fatigued, we fell into bed and slept for a few hours.

We woke up and got breakfast and headed to the sights of London. We went to the Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, and walked along the Thames. We then hung out in the bar at our hostel until dark and went to Picadilly Circus which is similar to Times Square in New york. Then we grabbed our stuff from the hostel. That was interesting because it was karoake night at the bar in the hostel so when we got our stuff we were serenated by some girls who had obviously had some drinks earlier. Lets just say we were happy to get out of there. We headed to the airport, and prepared to spend the night. We could check in during the night but guess what? Maren's AND my bags were too big. But we couldn't pay the fee until 4 am. So we hung out on the cold floor until 4 when we could finish checking in. We then made it through security without a hitch. At least the fee wasn't nearly as steep for EasyJet, the airline we took, as with Ryanair. We all slept the entire flight to Prague. We got off the plane in Prague and proceeded to find our hostel. We used all forms of public transportation in Prague including the bus, metro and tram. When we got to the hostel, our room wasn't ready so we went down and had a huge breakfast at the breakfast buffet. I had a pancake for the first time in 3 months. No syrup but with sweet and condensed milk and Nutella, it's just as good. I also had 2 bowls of cereal and a baguette of bread. By then our room was ready and we all passed out. Maren and Miriam apparently woke up earlier than I and bought food for supper. I didnt' wake up until 8:45pm. Then we ate supper and I took a shower. I currently am lying in my bed at the hostel about to sleep again. We have two more days here so I'm excited to be in one place for a while. I will add pictures when I get the chance.

I would say good-bye in czech if i knew even one word in czech but i don't. So until later!