Saint Week

Spain celebrates Semana Santa (Saint Week) every year as their spring break. It is the week of Easter, and ours ended up being nearly 2 weeks long (12 days)! It was a great way to get a break from daily life and responsibilities and see the world. However, I have to admit it was hardly "Saintly". If you are one of those people that like to pretend that I don't like boys or alcohol, you may want to skip over this post. It won't be too bad, but the 2 items will be mentioned a time or 2 :)

Okay, so if you are still with me, lets get started! This is gonna be a long one so bear with me.

We left Oviedo Wednesday night on the overnight train to Barcelona. The train wasn't bad, and the seats reclined to be basically beds. However, it was 10 hours and that sucked. Originally we had a 1.5 hour flight, but the ever popular RyanAir decided to cancel all flights out of Oviedo for last week. So train it was! We got to Barcelona around 8am and took a nap, then went out touring! We stayed on La Rambla, the main shopping street in Barcelona which ends at the water. After seeing a double decker tourist bus, we decided to hop on and tour the city that way since it would be easier. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we got to see most of the big monuments in the city. I loved Parc Guell, a park designed by Gaudi, and Santa Maria del Mar, one of the Cathedrals. I had been to Barcelona when I was in high school, so much of it I had already visited. It was fun being back with friends though! The cathedrals were amazing, and there is so much history in the buildings that it makes them absolutely stunning and grand. Since it was Easter weekend, we got to see a procession into the Cathedral. The Spanish celebrate Easter with many different events, and we stumbled upon the procession of people dressed in costume. At the beginning of the parade, men dressed in black carried a cross, as Jesus was forced to. The cross was huge, and each man carried it a bit by himself, then traded off. And let me tell you, that thing must have weighed a ton! After them, there was a long line of nazarenos, people dressed in robes and masked hoods that resemble the outfit of a KKK member. This is a long standing Spanish tradition, but it freaks me out a bit because of what those outfits mean to us in the US. There were tons of people in the street, and it was really cool to watch the celebrations!

Thursday night we went out with Chloe's friend. She had never met him cause he is the friend of her sister's boyfriend, but he was very nice and was happy to take us out! Him and his friends met us at Plaza Catalunya and we went to a really cool bar that almost seemed to be hidden and underground. We got a huge keg type thing of sangria and then beer, and after splitting them and playing some drinking games, we left for the bars near the beach. We went to a small bar and Balam (Chloe's friend) bought us a special, slightly inappropriate drink, then we all took tequila shots. Next stop ended up being the beach! We got to the beach and Balam bought us beers from this super sketch guy selling them, and we all shotgunned them on the beach. We hung out for a while, then Laura wasn't feeling too well so we took a taxi home. The next morning I was woken up by the hostel lady saying that my professor was waiting outside for me, so I ran downstairs looking terribly hungover and talked to him. Him and his wife are now retired and are staying in Barcelona for a month, then making their way to Oviedo and Portugal. They used to live in all 3 places, so they are back visiting. There's not a lot of ways to communicate here, so Kalter just showed up when he was close by. Unfortunately for me, I looked awful and probably smelled awful, but I told him I'd go to coffee with them, so I quickly changed and then went back outside. We had a nice time catching up and he told me all about the places I should go! The rest of the day the girls and I went shopping, then we went out with Balam again!

By this time, Chloe decided we needed 3 rules to follow for the rest of the week. I feel like these could apply to life in general as well:

1. Don't throw up
2. Don't lose your shit
3. Don't be embarrassing


The second night we were going to meet Balam at his apartment and then go to one of the big clubs on the beach. He knows the owner and asked to have us let in cover free. We all dressed up, and killed a bottle of absynthe at his apartment. Before we knew it, it was too late to go out so we ended up just kicking it at his house all night. We stayed up til 8:30 to watch the sunrise, then ate pasta together for breakfast and headed back to our hostel to get out stuff. After a short nap we boarded the cruise!

The first full day on the cruise we tanned ALL DAY LONG. There was unlimited food and alcohol on the boat, which was absolutely amazing since we are all used to being served only what and how much our host moms give us. I drank a bunch of piña coladas, and the bartender and I became quick friends :) The next day was Tunis, Tunisia. I was so freaking excited to go to Africa! We took a taxi into the city, and then a random man told us to follow him and he'd show us the city. Being dumb Americans, we followed him. Sorry Mom and Dad, I know we should have been more careful! But it turned out fine, and he was actually very nice. He led us to the top of a building where we could see the city, and explained a lot of things to us. We went shopping in the market, then came back to the port to take a ride on camels! Once back on the ship, we relaxed and ate our hearts out :)

After Tunis was Rome. We didn't have much time in Rome and it was pouring, so it was kind of unfortunate. We paid to go inside the Colosseum, which was cool! Afterwards, we took the scenic route (ie got lost...) on the way to the Pantheon. We went inside, then made our way to the Trevi fountain. Afterwards, it was back in the taxi to go see the Vatican and then catch the bus back to the ship. 

Florence was after Rome, and I absolutely loved Florence! It reminded me of Salamanca, Spain, in that it was a cutesy little town with a cool vibe. It was exactly what I picture when I picture Italy! We had fun walking around and shopping, then got gelato. And let me tell you, the Italians definitely have the whole gelato thing down! It was the best gelato I've ever had, and the guy working was so sweet :) We went back to wait for the bus, and then went out that night on the cruise. The cruise was absolutely amazing, and I recommend Pullmantur to anyone who is interested in going on a cruise! It was all inclusive, including alcohol, and they didn't make you pay for hardly anything once you were on board. This was nice, because my family went on a Carnival cruise a few years ago and EVERYTHING cost money. The cruise itself was also very inexpensive, as I payed less than $100 a day total. There was a big group from the University at Salamanca onboard, so it was mostly people our age, which was fun. The ship had a large discoteca, so we went up there and had some drinks. When I went to get another drink at the bar, my friends went to go dance. I was going to finish my drink and then join them, when the guy behind me started talking to me. He was just about the only other American on the ship, and he was glad to have someone to talk to. We talked for over an hour and he was very nice, but he is going through a nasty divorce and I feel very bad for him! His name is Robert, and he and his 2 kids were in the room next to us, so the rest of the cruise we befriended them. 

By this time, I had my eye on one of the bartenders, Ricardo. He was super cute, and just my type. We also made friends with most of the waiters. One of them really liked Rio, so we gave them our room number and he would call her at night. His friend was the one who asked for our room number, and he was super cute also. Anyone that knows me, knows that I tend to call all cute guys I meet my boyfriend right off the bat, even if I've never talked to them haha. So Rio had her lover, and I had my 2 boyfriends, Ricardo and the waiter, Larion. Most of the employees that we met on the cruise were from Brazil, since the ship goes there and they have a deal with the country. It was fun being the only American girls on the ship since EVERYONE knew us, but at the same time it was a bit embarrassing because we were ALWAYS in the buffet saying hi to people haha. 

Genoa was the next day, and I didn't really know what to expect. We got off the boat and walked up to the city. Near the port it was dirty and kind of ugly, but once we got up into the old town area it was actually very pretty. We walked around aimlessly and took pictures, and found a little market. The woman who sold us rings told us to go to the bakery across the street and get focaccia bread, which was seriously the best bread I have ever had in my life! It was absolutely delicious, and the women working were adorable, but didn't speak any English. We continued walking and came across a farmer's market, where we bought pesto that was absolutely delicious as well! Next, we sat at a cafe and talked. A man walking down the street stopped and stared, but I just kind of ignored him. At least until he wouldn't go away. He stood across the street trying to talk to me for so long that I finally got up and said hello. He spoke English and said I was beautiful and that he wanted to talk in the cafe. I told him he had 5 minutes, so we went inside and talked. Afterwards, he talked me into going on a walk with him, but I made it short. Let's just say, I thought the Italian men would be better kissers ;)

That night Robert and Laura and I got drinks before dinner. We talked for a while and Robert told us about his complicated life story. He is from Alaska, but moved to Frankfurt with his wife and kids to try to fix their marriage. Shortly after, his wife basically ditched him. I asked if he still loved her, trying to come up with some advice (or at least something to say other than "That sucks, Im sorry" haha), and he began telling me that he wouldn't have noticed me if he did, and that he wished he could ask me out. After that it got a bit awkward, since he is significantly older than I am, and not to mention the fact that he is married... I would never, ever cross that line. Plus I just thought we were friends. So after that he hung out with us a bit, but I tried to keep my distance. The girls and I went out again, and part way into the night Laura and I got the bright idea to start a drinking competition with the other 2. We began chugging Costa Azules, a drink consisting of tequila, blue curacao, and sprite. When I went up to get us some more, I tried flirting with Ricardo, but his friend kept smiling at me and I was a little worried he was trying to cockblock me haha. I tried ignoring him, but he asked my name and age, then told me he thought I was beautiful. After that, we were friends, cause lets be real, I love people who think I'm pretty. Doesn't everyone? haha. I still had my eye set on Ricardo, but he was keeping his distance, so in the meantime I let the new guy, Walter, serve me my drinks. Ricardo and Walter had fun laughing at drunk me and drunk Laura, and we had a grand old time. At one point I lost the other girls, and my key card was demagnetized, so I sat outside the room for about 30 minutes waiting for them to come back. When they finally got back, I felt so sick from the rocking of the boat that I had to make use the bathroom immediately. Then they started eating these awful smelling Pringles, so I had to repeat the process. Let's just say the night did not end well for me... haha.

The next day we went to France! We arrived in Villefranche, a gorgeous little town on the French Riviera. It was amazing! One of the guys working by the entrance hit on us upon arrival, and he was cute! We took the train into Monaco, since we didn't have enough time to visit both Monaco and Nice. Monaco was the prettiest place I have ever been! The water was so turquoise, and we kept saying how it felt like Disneyland, like it was just built for entertainment and everyone there must be hired to act like they live there. We climbed up to the palace and watched the changing of the guards, and even got a glimpse of the prince! The one downside was that we saw Ricardo, and apparently he has a girlfriend. Sad day, but oh well haha. 

When we got back on the ship Laura and I slept outside by the pool. I got some piña coladas, as I was trying to take advantage of the unlimited alcohol. Walter was working and began referring to me as his girlfriend, which was just fine with me since Ricardo was now out of the picture :) haha. He told all his friends that we were dating, and they all made jokes and laughed. After that, I never had to wait in line for my drink because everyone knew I was "Walter's girlfriend". And that was just great, cause those lines can get super long! After dinner Larion and Ramon came to our room because we decided that we would fake a marriage for Rio and Ramon. They are not allowed in guests' rooms and could get fired if they got caught, so it was cool that they risked their jobs for us. Ramon was very excited, but Rio had a change of heart and ended up kinda ditching all of us. We didn't know what to do, and Ramon was so upset that he was crying. He really liked her, and I felt really bad for him :( Larion suggested they leave, so we said goodbye. That night we went out again, but the boat was rocking so much that it was impossible to dance. We all began to feel a little sick, so we called it an early night. 

Getting off the ship sucked, as we had so much fun and made so many friends. All of our Brazilian friends swapped Facebook info with us before we left, so that they could add us. They were some of the nicest people I've met, and they were a blast to hang out with! Semana Santa was one of the best vacations I've ever had, and I am so glad I was fortunate enough to explore the world and make so many great memories :)