Fútbol, Croacia, Ronda, y Barcelona / Soccer, Croatia, Ronda, and Barcelona

OK hopefully after this post my blog will be all up-to-date and I won’t have to write such epically long posts anymore. Sorry for getting behind! I’ll separate out the 3 things I want to write about today so you can read what you want and skip what you don’t care about. (Or skim, whatever. :-P)

SEVILLA F.C.: ¿Yo y deportes? ¡Hiciste una broma! / Me and Sports? You Joke!
I went to a fútbol game a couple weeks ago with Meseret, Lauren C., Sarah F., and Jessica (we also ran into their friend Graham and his mom who was visiting). We bought the “cheap” seats (35€), but we were actually in a really good spot. We were in the highest section of seats, but as far forward in that section as you could get. It was great because no one was in front of us, we could jump up and cheer whenever we wanted! And we did, many times, because Sevilla won the game 3-2. It was a very exciting game (for me, but then what do I know about fútbol?). It was interesting to see too how all the fans were so into the game. There was this song they all knew and were singing. I don’t normally enjoy watching sports but this was really fun. The other team’s uniform looked like highlighters, too, so we had fun making fun of them (neon yellow jersey, shorts, and socks even). Sarah and Jessica were fun to listen to because they kept making up nicknames for the players. On the whole it was a REALLY fun game and I would totally go again if it weren’t so expensive. I could even see myself getting into soccer…you know, if I got bored one day :-).

CROATIA: Regresa a la historia familiar / Return to Family History
Croatia was not what I expected (though I suppose I didn’t really know what to expect). But it was REALLY cool! Took forever to get there and back but still totally worth it.

My dear travel companions for this trip were Malia and Ryan. We left Sevilla at 11 PM on Thursday, Nov. 12th. We took the Socibus from the Plaza de Armas bus station to Madrid – this is a 6-hour overnight bus ride. Long, but I managed to sleep for most of it. After arriving in Madrid, we got a taxi (because the metro doesn’t open until 6 AM) to the airport. Our first flight was to Munich. Definitely slept again on the flight – it was about 2 hours or so. After a short layover in Munich we got on our flight to Zagreb! This flight was only an hour. The Zagreb airport is pretty small, but it’s nice. We went to the ATM immediately to withdraw kuna – Croatia is not in the European Union (they are a candidate country though, so they hopefully will be soon). We got on the bus from the airport to the bus station in Zagreb. Then we got tram tickets to go to the city center where our hostel was. Hostel Nokturno is VERY nice and I definitely recommend it to anyone going to Zagreb. You can’t beat the location. All in all it was a ridiculous number of travel hours…summary: Bus, taxi, plane, plane, bus, tram.

After checking in and settling down, we decided to go exploring. We walked around some nearby streets, mostly heading south of the main square (Trg Bana Jelacica) until we found a pizzeria and had lunch. There are pizzerias EVERYWHERE in Zagreb. This is apparently one of their main food options. So yeah after exploring a bit we stopped for pizza. It was good pizza too – and there were Coca-Cola posters all over this place. After lunch we continued wandering, where we came across a storefront with Jack Daniels in the window (I think it was a candy and liquor store). This was a little emotional for me…my uncle Bill passed away very suddenly last February. He had been learning Croatian for awhile (he is my mom’s brother and their mom was Croatian) and he and my mom had been planning to go to Croatia together someday. This was a big part of the reason I wanted to go to Croatia while I was in Europe – since his death it has been hard for my mom to think about going there without him. I still really wanted to see the place my great-grandparents came from, and I’m so lucky I found people who wanted to see Croatia as well (I hadn’t expected that I’d be able to go). Anyway, JD was Uncle Bill’s favorite drink (he loved his whiskey and soda), and since I saw this after being in Zagreb for a matter of hours it was really cool to think he was there. I miss him a lot. ♥

We continued our wanderings, seeing some pretty parks, shopping areas, and cool buildings. The sun set way earlier there than in Spain (Spain is sort of in a fake time zone; geographically it should be in the same zone as Great Britain but it chooses not to be) so we were surprised when it was only 6 PM and already pitch black. We had wandered to a mall/residential area by this point, so we started walking back toward the main street we’d been on. In our wanderings, I started to notice some things about Croatia. The people there dress well, very trendy (not like Spain trendy with their saggy crotch jeans…). Designer stores are everywhere. The CDC website says not to drink the water in Croatia – that might be true in a rural area but in Zagreb it is so modern and clean that we definitely did and had no problems. The Croatian people are very friendly. And they all speak English! Fluently! There were times you could ask a random person on the street to take your picture and they’d totally just talk to you in English. It was great. They must have bilingual education.

We stopped at a café for hot chocolate. There were all these cool bars and cafes on this one street that had really comfy outdoor seating (couches and the like). It was funny because our waiter asked us to pay immediately after we got our drinks – unusual for Spain. Also we got tap water! Without having to ask for it and be given dirty looks or told they don’t do that! So great. It was yummy hot chocolate too. We sat and talked for awhile and then eventually made our way back to the hostel. There we rested a bit and then went and had dinner at the restaurant right below our hostel (I had pasta). We were all in bed by about 10 PM (that many hours of traveling had been exhausting). It was just the three of us in our room at the hostel, and it was really comfortable and warm. Sidenote: There are T-Mobile signs all over Zagreb. Weird to see after not seeing any in Spain.

We got up around 9:30 the next morning (that was a very good night of sleep). We headed first to Dolac Market, this great area by the main square where they sell fresh food every day. There was also a market for clothes and other goods (Ryan almost bought a man-bag but decided against it). Malia bought honey (which the Zagreb airport made her throw out when we left). There was a little gift shop too where one of the employees overheard us talking about the postcards we were looking at and she told us the heart is the symbol of Zagreb. I think that’s really cool.

After Dolac we headed toward St. Mark’s Church (stopping on the way for a breakfast pastry) and other touristy areas. St. Mark’s has this beautiful tiled roof that I could not get over. It’s in the same square too as the Croatian Parliament building, which was exciting for me to see. (Sidenote: The streetlamps had actual fire, not light bulbs of any kind.) Then we walked one street over to the Zagreb History Museum. The people in the museum were really nice (and it was super cheap, only 5 kunas for students), they let me take some pictures even though they normally don’t. The exhibition they had up was all about Ban Josep Jelacic (no idea if I’m spelling that right). He was apparently a very important person in Zagreb (I think the main square is named after him). The woman who sold us our tickets was very nice and asked where we were from. I told her how I wanted to come to Croatia because my great-grandparents were from there, and I told her the last names Benac and Popich (turns out we’ve all been using an Americanized pronunciation of Benac…makes sense I guess because Popich was never Americanized). We continued our random wanderings, going back to the main square where there was some sort of concert/band show going on. I think Malia later found the band – they were really good! We were definitely wishing we could understand Croatian though.

Next we walked over to the main cathedral in Kaptol. Part of its spires are being restored, but it is a lovely cathedral inside and out. I tried to get pictures but sadly my new camera utterly failed at pictures inside the cathedral. Next we wandered south, to where the main train station is, past a bunch of parks. We saw people coming up from an escalator, and thought maybe Zagreb had a metro? So we went to look and turns out there is a huge underground mall. With stores and a food court and all kinds of stuff. It was warm too! So we wandered there a bit before heading back to the streets to wander more. We kept stumbling across things we’d seen in postcards – the National Theatre, the Well of Life, etc. It was really cool. Zagreb is so easily walkable. We had lunch at a pizzeria again (after Malia got coffee to go, very exciting for us since Spain doesn’t believe in anything “to go”). Then we went to the Victoria’s Secret across the street (they don’t have them in Spain!!!). Then we continued wandering/shopping/exploring, stopping at one point for ice cream (my mom recommended the ice cream she’d had in Dubrovnik a couple summers ago – but I didn’t think the ice cream I got was anything special). You’d think ice cream would melt less when it’s super cold outside, but no! It melts fast.

We eventually went back to the hostel to rest for a bit before dinner. For dinner we went to Kerempuh, a place recommended for Croatian food in my guidebook and in the “Zagreb in your pocket” tourist guide. The three of us shared a bottle of house wine (it was white and very good) and had a nice dinner. I’m not sure it was especially Croatian – mine was basically chicken and vegetables – but it was good. After dinner we went back to that main street we’d been on the night before and went to a bar. We sat outside and people-watched and had good conversations (sidenote: Croatian men are generally very good looking, they are tall and built). We went back to our hostel and went to bed around midnight.

The next morning Malia and I got up early to go back to Spain (Ryan had later flights than us). It was cool to see this crazy tram system running at 6 AM – also I’ve never seen so many people awake and waiting at any public transit at 6 AM. Pretty sure there were some Italian tourists there still out from the night before…anyway we got on the tram, got to the bus station and took the 6:30 bus to the airport, got through security and got on our first flight. Our tickets for this trip were booked through Lufthansa, and I must say that I loved flying Lufthansa. (Although our flights from Munich to Zagreb and vice versa were actually City Line and Croatian Airlines, respectively.) You get legit meals on every flight, even the ones that are super short like Zagreb to Munich. We landed in Munich, where it took forever to get through security (we were re-entering the Schengan states at that point). They took apart my whole backpack and screened it. Then we got on our last flight and made it to Madrid. Then we took the metro to the bus station, where we had lunch at Burger King (I know, but it was close to the station and cheap and we didn’t really know our way around there). We got on the socibus to Sevilla at about 5 PM and made it back to Sevilla around 11:10. I took a taxi (the Sevilla metro closes at 11 PM) and was back home. Summary: Tram, bus, plane, plane, metro, bus, taxi. Seen on the airport shuttle in Munich: “In case of emergency destroy window.” I love translations.

I loved the weekend in Zagreb and wouldn’t have missed it for anything. I even got asked for directions there (well, I think that’s what happened, it’s hard to be sure because it was in Croatian…). I think I could fit in there. Of all the places I’ve been I think I look the part there the most. It was a warm, welcoming city that I really hope I can visit again someday with my mom.

RONDA: Una ciudad bonita / A Pretty City
Ronda was a short day trip last Friday (the 20th) with ISA. Ronda is a city built right onto the edge of these giant cliffs. It’s a cute little town and I got some great pictures. We saw the bull ring and we saw the bridge over the cliffs. We hiked down to where you can really see the bridge. We walked through the town and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a very chill day, and the city was very pretty. There’s honestly not much more to say about it…worth a visit if you ever go to southern Spain (but way lower in priority than Sevilla, Granada, Córdoba, Málaga, etc.).

BARCELONA: La vida es tan difícil / Life Is So Hard
Barcelona was another epic weekend of exploration. Now, I’ve actually been to Barcelona once before (on that cruise with my mom) but it was very brief. We really only saw Gaudí’s La Pedreda, and I was too distracted by the Catalán to really enjoy the city. I enjoyed it soooooo much more this time.

For this weekend, Meseret and Ryan were my travel buddies. We met up at the Prado stop at 7 AM Saturday to take the airport bus to Sevilla’s airport (actually flying out of Sevilla, how novel!). Our flight out was at 9. We arrived in Barcelona around 10:30, where we went to the train that takes you to the metro and got promptly confused by the tickets. Luckily an employee was there to help (though she didn’t really speak English so we were forced to use our Spanish, hard to do when you’ve been traveling and are tired). We each bought T-10 passes (you can use them for any 10 trips on train, bus, or metro in Barcelona for 7.70€ - very affordable and I highly recommend it if you ever go). We got on the train, which took about half an hour, and then we were at a metro station. We got on a metro going to our hostel, where we arrived around noon. Check-in wasn’t until 1 PM though so we decided to wander over to Las Ramblas and eat our bocadillos. Las Ramblas is crazy, there are street performers and vendors and artists everywhere. We found some steps and sat and ate our sandwiches, like the crazy Americans we are (every single person who walked by us looked at us strangely because people don’t normally eat on the street in Spain). We didn’t mind though, in fact it was kind of fun. Before long it was 1 and we went to check into our hostel. We stayed at HelloBCN in a 6-person dorm. The key system was really cool – it was like a prox card system (where you just hold it up to the sensor) but on a wrist strap so you could wear the key like a watch. The keys worked for the hostel, the dorm room, and your individual locker. I had to switch beds twice because first Ryan was like “I don’t want to sleep on the top” and then after I traded with him Meseret was like “I don’t want to sleep above a stranger” so I traded with her. Silly people!

We decided to see Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia first. After a metro ride (the Barcelona metro is big and complicated like the Madrid metro, and nice because you can get anywhere on it – unlike Sevilla where we have one line and more than half the city is irrelevant) we arrived and there it was. It is this huge imposing view that you get right away! The Nativity side looks as if it’s melting. This side reflects the fear some architects have of leaving any surface undecorated…but it really is ornate and beautiful. The other side, the Passion side, is all about angles and suffering. It’s crazy to see how different the sides are. We did pay the 9€ to go inside – and I’m glad I did because I loved the inside. Stained glass windows and some really unique designs – my favorite part easily. Some of Gaudí’s stuff is too gaudy for my taste (word connection there maybe?) but the inside was great. We looked through the displays of what it will look like when it’s done, too. It will certainly be grand…in 2030 or whenever it’s finally done. I think it will end up being like 100 years of construction or something like that.

After the Sagrada Familia we went to Parc Guell, another Gaudí place. We took some great pictures at this area that overlooks all of Barcelona. By then it was starting to dark and so we decided to head toward Montjuic, the neighborhood where they have the fountain show. The fountains were GORGEOUS – probably my favorite part of Barcelona. They are huge and they do this lights show that of course has music – I’m talking grand on the scale of Disney. Seriously, Disney would approve of this show. That’s saying something.

After the show we headed to the Hard Rock Café to meet Meseret’s friend David who is studying abroad in Barcelona. It was nice to have American food (and free refills) and David was cool so it was a lot of fun. That makes two Hard Rock Café’s that I’ve been to now – Lisboa and Barcelona. After dinner we went back to the hostel briefly to drop some stuff off and then we went out. It was crazy because I swear it was like after midnight and the streets were still totally empty. Barcelona really does go crazy with partying because the streets didn’t even get busy until after 1 AM. David took us around to some cool bars and we saw a lot of the city at night. We made it back to the hostel around 2 (we were too tired to really party Barcelona-style – David told us most people don’t even start at clubs until 3 AM).

I got up around 10:30 on Sunday morning (I didn’t sleep very well – the bed was comfortable but we were sharing the room with two VERY loud snorers!). We took our time showering and getting ready for the day. I think it was around noon when we set out for day 2. The first thing we did was walk along Las Ramblas again and saw where the Boquería was (sadly closed…I never will get used to the world shutting down on a Sunday the way Spain does). We went over to the Gothic Quarter and saw the Barcelona Cathedral (beautiful) and other cool buildings. We saw Placa Reial also. Eventually we made our way back to Las Ramblas and made it all the way to the end where the Mirador de Colón is. We bought bocadillos at Subway and ate them sitting by the waterfront. It was a very relaxing time. Then we continued our explorations by Port Vell and almost into Barceloneta. Eventually we stopped at a café and shared a bottle of wine, just people watching and enjoying each other’s company. Later on we met up with David by the mirador and did some more exploring around Las Ramblas. Then we went to meet up with Meseret’s other friend (Bree from 7th grade) for dinner. It took awhile for us to find each other but eventually we did, and we walked around Barceloneta looking for a place to eat. We found a Mexican restaurant (complete with tacky lights) called Casa Mexicana and we ate there. The food was decent – I still miss home cooking sooooooooooooooooo badly. I crave it constantly. Before we knew it it was after 11 and time to head back to the hostel.

We got up at 4:40 AM and left the hostel at 5. We took the metro to the train station, then took the train to the airport. Then we had to take a bus from the train to our terminal, and the security lines were long. Meseret hadn’t checked in online for our flight like Ryan and I had and they sent to all these wrong lines until it was too late and she couldn’t check in for our flight. Poor Meseret got stuck and had to take the next flight back :-(.

All in all, Barcelona was a fun city. It is very different from Spain in a lot of ways (for instance, I heard more English than Spanish or Catalán, and I saw people who were not coordinated from head to toe), but it is still Spanish. They sort of have a dual identity of Catalán and Spanish. They have unique art (all that Gaudí) yet they are much more industrial than any city in southern Spain. I very much enjoyed the weekend there and definitely recommend it.