So today marks the first day that I have written in the blog in over two months…. I really want to try and write more often because my memory is wack and only the written will allow me to remember the small joys that i recieve from this program. In the following paragraphs I am going to attempt to sum up the last few months adventures from memory. Here we go…..
Barcelona was the last place that I Spoke about in this blog…. The next place I went to was Lisbon, Portugal with my buddy Gary. He has a friend there that was totally cool and she let us crash at her pad for three days. In Lisbon we cruised around the town the first day and took in the classic flavor of the city. To be honest it seamed as though the citizens of Lisbon do not put much empashis on maintaining their buildings. They looked a bit run down but it did give the city a certain character that I havent found with other cities. We also visited a 9th Century Moorish Castles in Sintra. Gary and I took and train ride north in search of this amazing piece of history. From the town all you have to do is look up and you can see this magistic Fortress looming over the city. As soon as we saw it we knew we had to climb to the highest point on the castle. So we embarked on our mission and began our accent…. through private gardens, backyards, alleys, and over walls we summited the beast. Only to later find that there was a bus that would take you up for less that 2 Euros. hahaha oh well it was a good experience. The View was simply amazing! It had been cloudy all day and as we reached the highest point of the castle the sun broke through the clouds as it sank into the horizon and slowly we watched the entire valley be illuminated through a thin layer of fog. That was probably the most beautiful sights i have ever seen. Shortly after we decended in a similar fashion as our accent as we were to impatient to wait for the bus.
We also visited a small beach town name Cais Case, I totally Jacked up the spelling there, but that place was pretty cool. We went to some really beautiful spots as well. Overall, Lisbon was a great city. The Nightlife was fun eventhough we didnt go to the night clubs. Though we did get rolled by the Portugese undercover police. I blame that on Gary but that is a story for another time. hahahaha. I really enjoyed my time there, I do believe that i will be headed back someday.
Next I think I went to Rome with Gary. That place was also very cool. The nightlife was dismal but the history of course was amazing. Being able to walk around in the Colisem is an amazing experience in its self. There are so many ruins from this great civilization that it becomes difficult to appreciate the sights after a few hours of seeing them. We met a really cool girl there that had been traveling for quite sometime and she was able to come with us and give us a tour. She was super nice and was able to handle the crude and sometimes racy humor that Gary and I like to employ ahaha. She was down, her friend candy later joined us and we went to dinner. One of the best dinners I have probably had. We simply walked into an italian Mom and Pop shop resturant and asked out waiter to bring us out whatever he thought was most authentic italian food. From then on it was game on . Plate after plate after plate of delicious fruiits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, wines, and pasta. It was a private feast just for us.
The we went to Morocco. That place was interesting. It sorta reminded me of T.J. Lots of Haggling, lots of pressure to buy. I honestly felt like a lamb sent to the slaughter. It wasnt much of a vacation because eventhough things were affordable I couldn’t help but feel i was being taken for a ride. I guess it felt as though there was a lack of Geniue intentions there. Noboady helped for free. I can understand that people need money, but I guess coming from the world view that i Possess it just struck me the wrong way. What I will say is that they are amazing craftsman. They can do things with leather and ceramics that will blow your mind. What more is that most of the people selling on the streets are well versed in the tongues of other nations. I met a guy that could speak 6 Languages and he learned all of them living on the streets. I was simply amazed. I am giong to give Morocco another shot in the near future. I wanna like it, I just need to have a good experience.
Anyway that sums up more or less the big trips that i have taken. Frankly, Im super tired of trying to remember this stuff. I have pictures to fill in the rest. Basically, I view this entry as a jumpstart for the next seven months to come for all things Spain.
jtrainabroad 