Burger Queen

I realized I also owed you a blog post.

Written sometime in July.

I love American food. Most of all, the burger. Before I left the States I had to have a burger. In all my rushing, I never had the chance. On my layover in Montreal, I went to have dinner. When burgers were an option, I jumped at the chance to satisfy my continual craving. This was the last real burger I had...until London.

Somehow (probably b/c of my 4th of July burger) I resisted my craving for a month and a half. But the moment I got to London, all I wanted was a burger. And by the time I got around to eating one, I was starved. As I mentioned before, I found "the best burger in London." And at first bite, it was delicious. However, once the hunger started fading, I realized that the burger was actually disappointing. The bun and toppings were the only saving grace (it was a three cheese burger). The burger itself had to have been a frozen patty. But the cherry? The cherry on top, this frozen burger cost me something like $30. Yep. Seventeen lovely pounds.

Paris Part Trois

FIN.

Barcelona

Madrid

London Part II and beyond

Scotland

London

Paris Part Deux

Venice

Pictures!

I owe you a ton of photos. And here they are!

Best thing about Atlanta so far? They played "All I Do is Win" during the lottery drawing.

Reflections??

It was an amazing trip. Absolutely amazing. I saw so many amazing places, ate so much amazing food, met so many amazing people. I really can't believe it is over. I really can't belive that I did it. And I did it alone. I will say that there were quite a few times when I wished I had a travel buddy (thanks Elissa for all the pep talks) but there were also so many times when I loved being by myself. The only thing I wish I could have added to my trip (which I didn't even think about until Spain) was staying with locals (hence my couchsurfing attempt in Paris). But even without that, I still managed to meet quite a few people from the cities I traveled to. I can't believe it. I think back on the day that I had every intent on canceling my trip and the conversation I had with Rob. Thank you so much for keeping your promise of getting me back to Paris. Turns out I saw a lot more than Paris this time around. I haven't yet balanced my books but I am sure that despite the damage, I will not regret this trip one bit. I already know it was worth whatever the cost was. Living your dreams is kinda priceless.

Final Days

Written 8/2

I can't believe my trip is over. But I am actually very excited to be back in America (Montreal). I have a couple hour layover so let me finish up my days in Paris.

July 30

I got to the 13th and decided that I wanted to be in the 5th. But rather than get back on the metro, I walked through one arrondissment to the next. Soon enough I was on Rue de Mouffard. Super cute little street lined with shops and cafes. I came across this vintage/thrift boutique and caught a sale sign in the window. I bought a dress (that I later found out was a from a legitimate designer) for 14 euro. I continued to make my way to the Marais area of the city but as I walked by Hotel de Ville, I was distracted by the gathering of people. Turns out a free concert started in 15 minutes. I took a seat in the shade and broke into the snacks I had packed for Mont St. Michel. After a while, a group of young Parisians sat next to me, a guy and four girls. The guy took an interest in me and we started chatting. Eventually he introduced me to the rest of the ladies. We hung out for a bit until people started leaving the group. After the concert, I hung out in the Marais for a bit and then went back to the hostel to meet the Yankee roommates and go to O'Sullivan's that night.

After a bottle of grain vodka and fanta, some BEP, Kesha, and David Guetta, we were on our way to O'Sullivan's. Great night.

July 31

Hungover and a tad bit under the weather, I woke up early (especially since my bed was occupied when I got in so I had to sleep in another room). But I managed to do nothing all morning. Around 3, I remembered I agreed to meet concert guy in one of my favorite Paris places (by Pont Alexandre III) at 4. I had planned to hang out there anyway. Good thing. As I sat around eating my lunch (very late lunch), he was no where to be found. I just sat around listening to Skyrock and people watching. I eventually decided to go to La Defense, the business sector on the edge of the city. It is actually a pretty nice area. From there, I went back to the Marais to do a bit of thrift store shopping. I began to feel the effects of my lack of sleep and decided to go back to the hostel for a nap. The only problem with having people that you actually talk to in your room is that you get distracted. Instead of falling asleep, I sat around talking. My roommate from NYC & CO (She went to school at Columbia but she is back living with her parents in CO right now) wanted to go to the Latin Quarter and I couldn't refuse getting out to see Paris at night. We walked around, saw Notre Dame, le Siene, the guillotine, etc. We got fondue for late dinner (very late dinner). She wanted to see the Sorbonne so we walked by there to the Luxembourg RER, which ended up being closed. We managed to catch a night bus to the metro and made it back to the hostel by 2.

August 1

After days and days of staying out late and partying and drinking, my body finally fought back. I woke up feeling terrible. But my last day in Paris would not be spent in St. Christopher's. I wanted to go shopping so I metro'd to Les Halles. I completely overlooked the fact that it was Sunday. Nothing much was open. I just walked around. Eventually, the cold, or whatever it was/is got the better of me. I made my way to the park area by the Champs Elysses, got a panini and sat. I hoped food would solve the problem but not so much. I wanted to go back to the hostel and nap but I didn't have it in me to get all the way back there (and I knew I would not come back out. It was only 1). I ended up taking a nap right there in the park. I woke up feeling a bit better and I attempted to continue my shopping. *Trixy* When you purchase a metro ticket in Paris, it is valid for trips on all buses and metros for an hour and a half after validation. I have used this to my advantage many times. In fact, I used it on the 31st when I cut my thrift store shopping short for a nap. When I tried to do the same on the 1st, it did not work. So I went to the information desk. They tried to tell me that my card was finished but it had only been a half hour. When I asked them if this was some new rule they just looked at me oddly. I personally think that it is a rule imposed in August to stick tourists for their paper. And yeah, it's true what they say, Parisians really do leave the city in August. *Trixy*

Eventually my illness got the best of me and I gave up. I went back to the hostel around 6:30 and napped. The Yankee roommates and myself were planning on going to the Eiffel Tower at 8:30. When I woke up at 9:15, there didn't seem too pressed. In the end, just NYC & CO and I went to Champs des Mars at 10:30. We got there after 11, took pictures and stayed around to see the Tower sparkle at midnight. Then we returned to St. Christopher's.

August 2

MY LAST DAY IN PARIS. And it can barely be considered that. I woke up, showered, started packing, had breakfast, finished packing and checked out. Shortly after, I left to go to Charles DeGaul and catch my flight. Which brings us to current time. My flight was about 8 hours and uneventful (except that they had an episode of Gilmore Girls available. And not just any episode, my favorite episode. The finale episode. I tried not to cry too much since I had seen it about 4 times. It didn't work. They also had Being Erica, which is no surprise since it is Air Canada, and Glee. They also had a pretty good meal and I watched the end of Valentine's Day, Date Night and Up in the Air.) And now I'm laying over in Montreal.

Back in Paris...for the second time

Written 7/31

July 29

I checked in and went to my room. This is the best room ever. (Ironically, it is the same all girls dorm I complained about in the beginning of my trip.) Turns out that when there is a all girls dorm full of "Yanks" it's great. The girls are amazing, friendly and fun. Two are actually from Baltimore. And I went to the Monoprix with the Bmore gals to get snacks and some food for lunch for my day trip to Mont St. Michel. When we got back we sat around the room with the other Yanks and a couple Brazilians chatting until we got hungry enough to go for kabab. After kabab, to Belushi's with a couple bottles of wine.

I left the girls around midnight since I had a train at 10am.

July 30

Overslept. IDK how. Maybe I slept through my alarm or it didn't go off or I cut it off. Either way, I woke up at 8:42. I had to shower. I had to get my bag together for my trip and I had to eat breakfast. I managed to get all this done in less than an hour but I could not imagine how I was going to make my train when I got on the metro at 9:33. When I got to the station at 10:24, I hoped above all hopes that there was somehow a reservation on the 11am or noon train. Of course not. Seeing as I had to book this reservation weeks in advance I was not surprised. There were also no reservation for the next two days. I resigned to the fact that I would once again miss Mont St. Michel. I returned to the hostel and chatted with the ladies, called my mom, and interwebbed. Then I finally got on the metro and went to the 13th.

Party, party, party...

Written 7/31

I am ever so behind. I knew the train trips were perfect blogging opportunities but I hadn't realized how essential they had been to keeping me up to date. But now that I am back in Paris and don't have a map covered in stars, I have the time to catch you up on the ending of Spain.

July 27

My bus got in around 8am to Barcelona. I managed the metro trip to the hostel with little incident. When I got there it was of course too early to check in but I only had two days in Barcelona so I wanted to get started. I showered up and checked my luggage. Elissa once again hooked me up with a list of Barcelona musts so I starred up a map. I started by walking down Las Rambla, stopping at the huge food market, La Boqueria, and ending at Plaza de Cataluyna. From there I just walked around exploring the city. Seeing various sights and doing things tourist do, like shopping.

When it was time for a late lunch, I stopped at the tapas place I starred on my map. I walked to the counter, which was loaded with various snacks and tried to decide what I would order. I ended up picking five bite-size yums: jamon, tuna wrapped in a spicy pepper, cheese and pepper wrapped in a spanish omelet, bomba, and a potato filled with some creamy stuff. The best part of this restaurant though is the family that works there. They are so very entertaining. The father/grandfather is the cutest and his son took to joking with me by my second visit (yeah, I went back the next day).

After lunch I returned to the hostel to check in. I also wanted to take the Gaudi free walking tour. I figured that since all my Gaudi knowledge had come from the quick scan of a wiki page the day before, I might appreciate his work more if I had a guide. And I did. The tour wasn't all that great but it was definately better than if I had gone by myself. After the tour, I stopped at a restaurant by the Sagrada Familia for some patatas bravas and went back to the hostel to try to find party partners.

There was one thing that I expected from Barcelona and that is to party. The hostel takes a group of people to a different club every night so I signed up to go to Opium that night. But since they didn't actually leave the hostel until 1:45am, I had plenty of time to sit around and not go on the internet. *sidebar* I am sure you know by now that I have been very reliant on the internet for a multitude of functions throughout this trip. While this hostel was pretty nice, it had timed internet. Each person receives 20 minutes a day for free. WHAT!! Who can get anything done online in 20 minutes a day. And of course I was opposed to paying for additional time (it wasn't cheap either). I managed to get an extra card so I luckily had 40 minutes a day but still not enough to facebook, gchat, skype and blog. *end sidbar* I went to the common room to do this sitting sans internet. And as usually happens in common rooms, what I always bank on happening in common rooms, I met some people. We sat around drinking 1 euro San Miguels, which had a taste that corresponded appropriately with the price.

I went to my room to get ready around midnight. I asked my roommates if they were going out with the hostel. They weren't. But one of them seemed like she wanted to. Actually, it was obvious she wanted to go and when I told her I was definitely going and would love the company she said she would join me. We got dressed and went looking for the pregame. The stores had stopped selling alcohol so we ventured to a fairly cheap bar and got a couple 5 euro mojitos. We returned to the hostel and on the way met this promoter (a cutie from CA) who invited us for a couple free shots, which we did not refuse. We made it back to the hostel just as the huge crowd of partygoers was coming out the front door. The swarm migrated down Las Rambla to a taxi stop and filed into cabs four by four. Soon we were at Opium...standing in line for the bathroom. The club was really nice but the drinks were super expensive. 10 euros for a vodka and pinapple. And even my tall, hot, blonde roommate couldn't get guys to buy her drinks. These Spanish dudes are stingy. *teeheehee* After some dancing and a fruitless quest for hot guys, we were getting very hungry and increasingly tired. We decided to cab back, but not without a stop to Mackers, as my tall, hot, blonde, Aussie roommate (and all her countrymen) calls McDonald's. *I'm loving it* My Fourth of July meal might have legitimately been good. And if it was, it was because Italy just knows how to do food. Even in my inebriated hunger I could tell that my Spanish McRoyal was no where near the caliber of my Italian McRoyal. It made me remember all the reasons why I don't eat at McDonald's and broke the delusion I was under after my Italy experience. *ba, da, buh, buh, buh*

July 28

We got in at 6am so you can imagine how I spent my morning. Asleep. When I finally got going, I needed lunch (or a late lunch). My original plan was to do a paella cooking class but they only had them on Tuesdays and Thursdays (which I found out after a 2 euro phone call. Freakin' timed internet inhibiting my skyping). I still had to have paella, I was only in Spain one more day. I found this restaurant with a paella menu that wasn't 30 euro and ordered. I was thoroughly unimpressed. I have never had paella before but have heard so much about it. I don't know if my expectations were too high or if it just wasn't good paella. When I get back to Waterbury, I am going to the Puerto Rican restaurant to give it a second try. Once I was full of lackluster paella, I hopped on the metro to Park Guell. I spent the afternoon walking around the housing complex turned park, checking out more Gaudi work.

Then back on the metro to the center of town for dinner. I returned to the tapas place (Elissa, who needs LP Spain when they have you?). A plate of machego cheese, bread, more jamon, and pepper wrapped tuna. I am really not sure how tapas managed to fill me up on so many occasions in Spain. After my dinner of snacks, I went back to the hostel to get ready for the bar crawl that was on tap for the night.

I met up with my San Miguel friends around 10 and we made our way from bar to bar, ending at some night club. It was no where near as nice as Opium on the beach, but the music was so much better. They had two rooms, one with hip hop and R&B (the FIRST time I have been to a club/bar that played this my whole trip) and the other with other great stuff. And the other great stuff would have satisfied but I have missed partying to my kind of music so we divided up time between the two rooms. And around 4, my party partners were ready to leave (although I still had some party in me). The other great thing about this club...It was right around the corner from the hostel so a quick walk and we were in bed.

July 29

I had a flight at 4pm meaning I need to be at the airport by 2pm. I also had to be checked out by 11am despite the fact that I had bar crawled last night. I woke up at quarter to 10, just enough time to get breakfast...in my pjs. From there I went about packing since I hadn't done it the night before. I really should have because at quarter to 11, I was still cramping stuff in my pack and hadn't yet showered. I decided to just check out...in my pjs. I made it by the 11am deadline and checked my luggage. And while pjs are comfy, I prefer not to wear them during my daily activities so I returned to the bathroom to shower and get ready.

Once I was both checked out and clean, I started to worry about my Paris accommodations. I originally wanted to couchsurf after having a really great and enlightening conversation about the network with one of the ladies I met in Madrid. I set up my profile and send requests while I was in Madrid but I hadn't heard back from anyone and my flight was in a couple hours. I wanted to take my time to search for another option so I took my laptop to the streets of Barcelona to find these free wifi hotspots that I was told exist. I did not find a hot spot but I did find a guy, not necessarily hot. In the end, I just ended up going back to the hostel and quickly following Plan B, booking at St. Christopher's. By this point, I was running late. I didn't realize I was running late until I got to the metro and was told that the metro didn't actually go to the airport. It went to the train station and the train goes to the airport. IDK why I didn't check how to get to the airport beforehand. Maybe if I hadn't had to ration my internet minutes I would have. I think the main problem is that I have just gotten sloppy in the final stages of travel. Whatever the case, I made it to the airport in time and subsequently to Paris and after that to St. Christopher's. And it felt (feels) great to be back in Paris.

And we're back...

Sorry for the delay. Got a little wrapped up in being back home. Here are the remaining blogs. Pictures to come!