Stuck in Sweden

My parents came to see me!!!

Happy Easter!

This weekend my parents and I traveled to Dubin and Portmarnock. They got here on Monday, the same day I got back from my spring break trip. While they were here we had some of the worst weather we’ve had all semester. There was even a little blizzard! My poor mother! We did get a few rays of sunshine here and there at least though. We toured Mary King’s close on Wednesday and that was pretty cool. It was a little creepy cuz it was underneath where the royal mile is now. But it was really neat to see, and the tour guide was pretty funny. He did a good job. Then we walked along the royal mile and looked at some shops. On the Thursday we went and climbed Arthurs seat and we had pretty good weather for that so that was really nice. We ate at Blacksmiths (a local pub) a lot cuz that is prolly the best place to eat in Dalkeith. We also went to a few pubs and that was kind of cool being able to drink with my parents at a bar. Friday morning we left for Dublin and went straight to our little hotel on the coast in Portmarnock. It was very pretty there, but when we arrived it was pouring rain! We went for a little walk along the beach later after it had stopped and that was nice. It was very pretty. The next day Dad went in to Ireland to do some touristy stuff while mom and I slept in a little and then went shopping! It was really cool. We went down this one street close to Trinity college. They had a string quartet playing and a bunch of other musicians up and down the street! There was also this really cool guy with a puppet that was really funny! We went into a bunch of stores and got some little things here and there. Mom got me a claddagh ring which I loved! She got some matching earrings too. We were only there for a few hours and then we headed back to our hotel. When Dad got back we went to go out to eat but ended up just going to the grocery store haha. We had a little picnic in our room and hung out and me and dad went to the hotel pub for a drink both nights too. It was a lot of fun. We didn’t get to see any Celtic music at the pubs around town, but that’s ok there is always Irish fest this summer! And I will be coming back to the Western part of Ireland someday anyways. So it will happen. We flew back to Edinburgh Sunday night and had dinner together at the Forge with Megan. That was really nice too, and then my parents left the next morning. The week went by super fast! It was so great seeing my parents. I didn’t realize how much I missed them. They were so much fun and I really enjoyed getting to spend that time with them. It was hard seeing them leave knowing that they will be going back home and I still have another month and a half left but it’s ok I’ll get over it. I’ve got a lot of work and traveling I have to yet and I’m determined to make the most of it. So mom and dad thanks sooo much for everything! It was so great seeing you and I love you soo much! I’m a very lucky girl to have such great parents! I also want to send a special thanks out to all those back home who are supporting my travels abroad. I have a great group of people backing me up and I appreciate you all more than you know! I love and miss you!!!

Chiclana! The end of our spring break!

So on 3/23 we left our hostel at 6 am and took a metro and then a train, then a shuttle bus to our airport. The train was late, go figure, but we made it on to our plane just fine. Then we had to take a bus to the train station, take the train to San Fernando, then take another bus into Chiclana, and then one more bus to our hostel. We didn’t really know where exactly we were going so we had to ask a lot for directions. Not very many people in this area spoke much English but it was pretty fun anyways. We finally made it in around 3:30ish and I was already feeling so much better. The beach was gorgeous!!! Our hostel is literally right on the beach! The lady who checked us in was really nice too. I used a lot of Spanish here or at least what I remembered cuz no one really speaks any English around here! I do kind of actually like that though, it’s really quite fun. I wish I would have kept taking Spanish in college now though.

We walked around a little and took a little nap which for me of course ended up being super long! I woke up for about an hour or two, e-mailed some people, and watched the 1^st half of a futbol game with the manager and another guy named Philip. He was from paris, and spoke 3 languages; Russian, Spanish, and French. It was a lot of fun talking to them. There were rooting for opposite teams, when I left it was still nil, nil. I went to bed and then slept in the next day. It was around 9:15 when I woke up and I was in the rare mood to go for a jog. That was when I first met the English couple. The guy, Alan, was trying to get out of the hostel the same time I was. The thing about the hostel was that they locked all the doors downstairs because the downstairs is a restaurant. The doors are locked from the inside and the outside as well, so we were trying to unlock them with our keys but neither of us could actually get it. We were working on it for probably 15 min. til finally Alan ended up calling the manager to help us get out. Of course, the manager opened it without a problem and taught me how to do it. By this time it was too late to go running and shower before leaving with megan for the super market so I just showered quick while megan talked with the couple. They asked us to go with them to Gibraltar for the day. We were sick of sightseeing and just wanted to chill on the beach so we respectfully declined. We felt pretty guilty about it later after thinking about it. We probably should have gone with but we still had a great day.

We first went to a super market just around the corner from the bus stop to get some more groceries. It was real small and a little expensive but it got the job done. Then we went and laid on the balcony for a while cuz it blocked more of the wind so it wasn’t as chilly. I didn’t lay out as long as megan but I still got a little burnt. Then I went for a walk by myself along the beach and listened to my music. It was great! I saw a windsurfer and my soon to be new passion, kite surfers! These guys were awesome!!! They got some serious air and it looked like sooo much fun! I was dying to get out there and try one! I took a bunch of pictures and one guy even posed for me haha. Then I came back and got Megan. I was so happy to be away from the city, and the beach was so wonderful. I was totally pumped to get back out there and I really wanted to jump in the ocean. So me and Megan goofed around taking pictures and then we went to walk along the beach to take more pictures. Once we got out there though, there was a group of guys playing soccer so we ended up playing with them. I just so happened to be wearing a skirt! I never wear skirts, but the one time I decide to do it, we end up playing soccer on the beach with Spaniards! Great! It was kinda hard to play but I didn’t do too bad. It was a lot of fun! Me and Megan played on opposite teams but we both ended up scoring! They said we played pretty well. Then I was super hot from playing, and I still had my swim suit on so I ran into the ocean for a quick dip and it felt really good! They all thought I was crazy though cuz it was a little cold, but really they are just pansy’s cuz it wasn’t that bad at all. After that we ate dinner and met up with the English couple. They invited us to their rooms and gave us some little sandwhiches and wine and we talked about our travels and what we did that day.

The next day we ate breakfast with the English couple because they were leaving that day for Portugal. It was very nice. We got some pictures and exchanged e-mails and then the lady was telling us how she used to teach a lot of self defense classes so I asked her about some of the moves and she got up and gave us an actual lesson right there in the restaurant! It was so cool! She was really tough too, especially for being in her 60’s. After that we said our good byes and gave each other hugs. I’ll actually really miss them. They were pretty cool.

After they left Megan and I hung out in the room and caught up on some more sleep. It was cold and rainy the whole day so it was great for napping! That night I went down and watched another futbol match with the guys. It was a lot of fun. They kept asking me questions about where I was from and although it was all in Spanish we managed to understand each other for the most part. At half time I went to make myself some dinner. I had bought one of those rice packets at the store the other day and I wanted something hot so I decided to make that. The directions were all in Spanish though and I could make out a tiny bit but not a lot of it. So I was just going to wing it and hope for the best, but then the cook saw me trying to figure it out and took it all from me, went into the kitchen, and actually cooked it all for me and everything! It was so nice! I was just going to use the microwave. While he cooked we talked about soccer and a little about our familes. He was very nice. He wouldn’t even let me do the dishes or anything either! I ate my dinner back in the restaurant with the other guys and watched the rest of the game. Then the cook came out and gave Megan and I donuts! It was great! One of the other guys kept asking me if I had tried eating bull at all while I was there and I said no, and then he asked if I had tried the ham and again I said no. I was on a budget so I usually just got stuff from the store. Then he went to the kitchen and brought slices of ham out for everyone to eat. It wasn’t too bad either. I really had a lot of fun watching the game and hanging with the Spaniards!

The next day, Friday I think, we slept in again and then I got up and went for a jog along the beach. It was a gorgeous day outside! When I came back I used the little workout playground just outside our hostel, then I showered and laid in the sun for a bit more. And mother I even put lots of sun screen on..multiple times! And I still got fried! Anyways, after tanning a bit we went to walk along the beach and take pics since we didn’t get to do it the other day cuz we played soccer instead. But as we were leaving we saw the same guys playing and they called us over and of course we couldn’t say no! So we played some more with them til we were all sweaty and gross and then we left cuz we wanted to get pics before the sun set. So much for looking nice for the pictures. We did get some great scenery shots though, and I found some really cool sea shells. On our way back I stopped to jump in the ocean again. Then we met these other guys that started talking to us, and it was a little harder to communicate with them. I did understand that they thought I was crazy too for swimming again, cuz they kept saying ‘oh hace frio!’. Then when we said good bye they kissed us on both cheeks and left! Haha it was a little weird for me and Megan but that’s just how they do things there. Then I had 3 more people say that on my way back too! More pansies, the swim was very refreshing. I love the ocean!

The next day Megan and I packed and hung out by the ocean a little longer before leaving for Sevilla. We were really sad to leave. We left around 3 or 4 and caught a bus back to the train station, where we took the train to Sevilla and eventually got to our hostel around 8. We then unpacked and left in search of a Chinese Buffet cuz we were soooo hungry! The guy at the desk thought it was so weird that we were obsessed with finding one, but he gave us directions anyways. I’d been living off of PB and nutella sandwhiches for the whole trip! I hadn’t eaten out once so I was so happy when we found it! It was great to have a nice hot meal! I was a little bummed they didn’t have desserts but that’s ok, I think it must be a European thing. No wonder they’re all so dang skinny! We also got a bottle of Sangria while we completely stuffed ourselves with food. It was a great dinner! By the time we made it back it was already midnight and we were so tired so we just crashed. Then the next day we got packed up again and took a late flight to London where we spent the night in the airport before flying out early Monday morning back to Edinburgh and then going straight to class! My parents also got back to the Castle about two hours after we did so I was tired! But it was a great spring break! I definitely learned a lot about myself and traveling so it will help us a lot when we are trying to plan the last two weeks of our trip here.