Orgasmic Chocolate

Now I have always been a huge fan of chocolate and I have had my fair share of fantastic chocolate dishes, however, I have just had an experience which may top them all (may). My experience was that of "Chocolate con Churros". Some of my new friends at the hostel were going to a Chocolateria that this guy´s friend had recommended as the best one in Madrid so I went with them because I love chocolate and churros are pretty good as well, so chocolate con churros sounded great. :)

Chocolate con Churros is drinkable chocolate with fried pastries (they are long and thin, kind of like straws, and are quite tasty). It was heavenly! I actually almost didn´t finish mine because it was so rich (if you can believe it). But, since it was so darn good and I can´t rationalize leaving something so yummy behind, I did finish my portion. Next time I will be sure to split it with someone else instead of having my own. I have to remember the name of this Chocolateria, because the next time I am in Madrid I will definitely be visiting. It is called "Chocolateria San Gines" and it is just off of the Plaza Major. When you go to Madrid, you have to go there. Bring a friend so you can actually finish your chocolate con churros...and go hungry because they fill you up surprisingly quickly.

Besides my orgasmic experience with chocolate, I also went to see the Van Gogh exhibit at one of the museums. It was great. I really like Van Gogh´s work and it was nice to see pieces that you don´t normally see or hear about. The exhibit was of his last scenes which he painted in the last couple of weeks of his life. Apparently, he painted around 70 pieces in the last weeks of his life, which is truly incredible. The exhibit was beautiful and I am really glad that I sucked it up and paid the $5 to see it. It was better than the Museo del Prado for free. :)

Winding Down

I now have a little over a week left before I head back to the US. It is a little odd. This summer has been great and full of new experiences and I don't want it to end because that means I have to go back to the routine of school and work. However, I have had enough traveling for awhile...at least in the sense of having to change beds every other night. I'm ready to sleep in a decent bed with good pillows for an extended period of time. I also want a Mountain Dew, but that's not that big of a deal. :)

Madrid is fantastic. I can see myself living here (after I brush up on my terrible Spanish). Savina and I went Salsa dancing Saturday night, which was a blast. We were out far too late though and wanted to get up early Sunday so we could get to the Museo del Prado before Savi had to meet a family friend. (Sundays are free at the Museo del Prado...good deal.) So I ended up running on maybe four hours of sleep Sunday...very interesting. Surprisingly enough, I made it through the day without killing anyone or even being really snippy with anyone and didn't even take a nap. Today, however, I was exhausted. We went to Toledo and walked around all day in the heat...ugh. I am a bit confused, too. When I was last in Spain I went to Toledo as well and I could have sworn that Toledo was the city in which I saw the Roman aqueducts. There were no aqueducts that we saw today. I may have to do a bit of research on this, because it is really bothering me. I think I may be going crazy...wait, too late for that, nevermind.

Anyway, we got some good, cheap sangria and Paella for dinner when we got back. It was wonderful. Then Savi and I split up...she is staying with a family friend until she leaves Wednesday and I have booked a bed in my hostel for another two nights. I fly to Manchester on Wednesday. It will be a lot of fun seeing Emilee again. I am going to have to ask her about Pimlico's final graduation because I think she went...those should be some interesting stories! Now I'm going to bed...I am beat.

España

Yay! I have an ¨ñ¨button on my keyboard...too cool. Anywho, I am now in beautiful Spain, in Valencia to be precise. I flew into Valencia, ran all over to find a cheap ferry and ferried it to Mallorca where I met Savi. Mallorca is very pretty, but it was nearly impossible to find a cheap place to stay. We spent the majority of Monday riding the bus up and down the coast in our search for a room for me. Why is it so difficult to give correct directions to the hotel you work at? Is it necessary to send potential guests to the wrong city? I don´t get it...maybe it´s an island thing.

I did finally find a somewhat inexpensive place which was really old and neat, with a ton of character. Unfortunately, I chose to stay the two nights in the summer when it rained (it ¨never¨rains in the summer) and I got a free shower in bed my first night. Now, I know about breakfast in bed and I think that is a pretty cool thing, but a shower in bed is a new one for me. Tuesday morning I woke, not to steaming coffee and french toast, but to water dripping on my head. I moved, thinking I could avoid the one leak, but to no avail as multiple leaks sprouted up all around and over my bed. The last couple of hours of my night´s sleep were spent on a hundred-year-old loveseat in the parlor room of the Pon Resadencia. Good times. I was able to receive a discount because of this surprise morning waterfall and got a new room. Apparently they don´t use my first room in the winter because of the bed showers, but it doesn´t rain in the summer, so I should have been fine. Silly me. Maybe I was just too smelly.

Savi and I are now in Valencia and are headed to Madrid tomorrow morning. We´ll be in Madrid for about 5 nights and then I will be off to Manchester to visit Miss Rauschenberger (AKA Emilee). Good times. I can´t wait for tapas!

Italy

I am now in Rimini, Italy enjoying the beach after having gone to Florence for a couple of days with a day trip to Pisa. Yesterday I went to San Marino with some people I met on my travels and at the hostel here in Rimini. San Marino was beautiful! It's a shame there are too many tourists there. Tomorrow I am off to Milan for a day before catching a flight to Valencia, Spain. I'm meeting up with Savi in Spain and we'll travel a bit together, which will be a lot of fun. Then, I hope to head north and visit a friend who recently moved to Manchester. It's actually really nice not having any set plans. Freedom, ahhh.

Winging It

Zadar is pretty cool. It has a real laidback feeling - maybe it's all the Italian influence. I ended up not going to Plitvice Lakes because it rained the last two days and I learned that people were having difficulties getting buses back and then needed to pay a taxi-way too expensive for me. Crap. So, the beautiful lakes are out and I am on to Ancona, Italy tonight.

I'm taking a ferry, which should be interesting. I have deck space, so I'll find someplace and roll out my sleeping bag and sleep the night away (hopefully). I have no real plans set for Italy as of yet. Perhaps Savi will find a cheap flight and we'll meet up, or perhaps I'll simply campout in random places...we shall see. I'm kicking myself for having left my tent. It would be nice to have a tent. No worries about rain with a tent over your head, of course a cool, natural shower never hurt anyone. (Wishful thinking there)

Splitting Split

I'm leaving Split this morning. It's far too touristy for me and I've seen all I would like to see. I stayed last night simply because it was cheap. A bit buggy, but cheap. What do you want from a dorm/student hostel? Thankfully I finally got hot water this morning...halfway through my shower. I was happy though. Today I head on to Zadar where I will then go to Plivitce Lakes which are beautiful from all that I've heard. Then I think I may head on to Italy...we shall see what the transportation situation is in Zadar. Off again!

The former Yugoslavia

My time in Novi Sad ended Wednesday night. The send off that NSHC had for us was incredible. Our friend, Mima, had us over for lunch Wednesday after spending the whole morning cooking! It was delicious. Then the staff at NSHC took us out to a "ranch", which is really a traditional Vojvodina farm. (Vojvodina is the province of Serbia in which Novi Sad is located.) We got to look around, pet horses, drink coffee, and enjoy traditional desserts before the speeches and gift-giving began. It was so nice to see how much they had all enjoyed and appreciated our time there. Then it was on to another cafe across town at the fortress and to a neighboring restaurant after that for pizza. I said my good-byes and sped off for home to grab my things, call a cab, and go to the bus station to catch the last bus to Sarajevo.

Sarajevo is beautiful. I would highly recommend a visit to Sarajevo. It is unlike any other place I have seen in my time in the former Yugoslavia. As we came over the mountains to where we overlooked the city I felt a difference in the air. It's hard to explain, but I could feel that Sarajevo was different and loaded with history. Driving through to the bus station I saw building after building riddled with bullet holes and pock-marked from shells. My bus stopped at a bus station out on the edges of town. Later I found out that Sarajevo has two bus stations...one main station, and one for Serbs (for buses to and from Serbia and the Republic of Serbska). I loved my time there and was able to spend some time with some of my classmates, which was great. Even though I was only there for 3.5 days, I will miss the calls to prayer that I heard multiple times daily. It amazes me how calming the calls are.

After Sarajevo, I was on to Mostar where I met up with my friend, Amber. The bus ride there was beautiful. We drove along a river that was the most stunning color. It was a deep blue-green and changed colors depending on how the sun hit it. At times it had a turquoise tint and other times is was more emerald with hints of jade. I have never seen a river that color. Mostar is a total tourist trap, but if you venture out away from the main few streets you see the devastation that hit the town. The majority of the town is still empty, bombed-out buildings with trees growing through the rubble. While I hate tourist traps, I hope that the money tourism brings can help the city to rebuild. We only stayed there for one night...Hostel Dino for €10/night, if any of you ever venture to Mostar. Monday afternoon we headed onto Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is another very pretty and picturesque place, but full of tourists. We'll be here today and tomorrow and then Amber will head to Pula and I will go up to Split. I just hope I don't get ill on the bus ride...ugh.