Barcelona

Tiffany and I were so lucky to have the same vacation time available and we both wanted to do some traveling. We were debating between Ireland or Spain. I have always wanted to go back to Ireland and I definitely will someday but with the weather in Munich this summer always being so rainy and cold we decided it was best if we went somewhere warmer and beachy. We found a great hotel that had a mini kitchen in it and a very inexpensive flight to Barcelona. My friend Lia is from Spain and she couldn't be more happy that I decided to go there. Our flight to Barcelona was very smooth and everything went very well. When we got to the airport in Spain we had to take the train into the city to get to our Hotel. It was so full with people and it smelled like body oder so BAD. It seemed like it took forever for us to get to where we needed to. Thank God for Tiffany because she is very good at navigating through train stations. After what seemed like forever we finally got to our Hotel. It was very nice hotel. The best part about the Hotel was the receptionist. She was the nicest person and so funny. After we dropped off our luggage and got everything situated we got back on the train and headed straight for the beach. The beach in Barcelona is okay but It's hard for me because I compare every beach with Hawaii. The beach in Barcelona was very crowded and very small. We decided we were going to get our first Sangria at this place on the beach. It was very expensive but it was nice. Lets just say that liter of Sangria made Tiffany and I a little buzzed.

After our Sangria we walked around a bit more and just took in our surroundings. After a while of walking we found a great place to eat. We got Paella, a liter of Sangria, and a salad for 15 euros. It was delicious! Paella is so very yummy. The only complaints I had of the place is the waiter was a bit strange but hey it was worth it. 

The one thing about spain that is so so so very different than Germany is the time of day that they eat. People in Spain don't eat dinner til around 9 or 10pm. The restaurants don't even open until 8:30pm and the whole city is dead until around noon. It was a bit hard for us to get used to this. In Germany people eat dinner at 6pm and everything is closed by 8pm so we have been accustomed to those hours. It was a bit challenging to wait until then to eat but it worked out just fine. Plus the food in Spain is amazing so it was worth the wait. 

The next day we wanted to have a beach day but the weather wasn't very promising for it so we decided to do some exploring. We walked down La Ramblas a very popular street in Barcelona. It has a lot of street vendors and a very big market that sales all kinds of produce and meats. We had some delicious fruit at the market. The weather in Spain is very humid and in the afternoon it is a bit unbearable. In the afternoons we would go back to the Hotel and eat lunch in our mini kitchen and take a little siesta. I completely understand now why they do that. By the afternoon you are so covered in sweat that you have to go back just to freshen up. After our siesta we did a bit more exploring and had our late dinner. 

Our days pretty much consisted of this every day except for the day we went to Sitges. Sitges is this little coastal town outside of Barcelona. It is the most beautiful place I have seen in a very long time. The beach there would give Hawaii a run for it's money. The town it's self has so much diversity and is very cute. Sitges is the gay capital of spain, is the place where Bacardi rum was invented, and has so much character. Tiffany and I spent the entire day sitting on the beach and relaxing. It was by far the best day of the trip. you know how much I love the Ocean. Sitges was so great that I wished we would have spent our six days their and just went into Barcelona to see the big attractions. 

The only things that were really awesome in Barcelona were the Sagrada Familia and the Park Güell. They were both designed by Guadi and they are beautiful. The Sagrada Familia is the most amazing cathedral I have ever been in. It is so strange yet beautiful at the same time. 

Gaudi was a very talented man but he never finished any of his works. They are still working on this cathedral and it's not estimated to be finished for another 10 or so years. The park Güell is another very awesome creation of his that he never finished. It is still beautiful!

The view from the park....that is Sagrada Familia in the middle. 

All in all it was a great trip. It almost went off without a hitch but well it's me and that just can't happen. On the way back to Munich we missed our flight. Tiffany thought the flight was at 2pm and it was actually at 8:55am. So by the time we found out that our flight was not at 2pm it had already touched down in Munich. This caused a big problem because it was to late to get any sort of discount or anything so we ended up buying a whole new flight. Well correction, Tiffany was very nice to buy my flight because it was her mishap that got us into the trouble. The next flight wasn't until the next morning so we ended up spending 16 hours in the airport all together and spent the night there. It was great to get home finally and get some rest. I had a wonderful trip and I happy to share it with Tiffany. 

Salzburg

A couple weekends after Lydia's leaving Aladin, Tiffany, and I decided we wanted to take a day trip. I heard that Salzburg was a great place to do a day trip to. Tiffany and I stayed over at Aladin's house so it was easier for us to all go together in the morning.  We had a very nice dinner prepared by  Aladin and watched a movie the night before we left. In the morning we all woke up and headed for the train station. When we finally got on the train it was packed with people. We ended up sitting next to this crabby old German woman who wouldn't even move over and let tiffany have enough seat. We got so lucky because about half way through the ride a group of people got off at a stop and we got to change seats. It was much needed. Then this deaf and blind woman was going around selling these ceramic turtles. They were very cute. Aladin bought one from her so we decided that the day would be dedicated to her and that every picture we took we would have Squirtle Jr. in them. We tried our best. 

When we got to Salzburg it was a very beautiful day. It was sunny and the weather was very nice. We walked around the entire day just seeing the sights and enjoying the company. It really is a beautiful place. Mozart came from Salzburg so there are a lot of memorials for him everywhere. The Castle on top of the hill is spectacular and the river that runs through the city is majestic. It was a wonderful day and we even had time to take a little nap in the park haha. For this the pictures do all the talking:

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

I have been really bad about updating my blog. It is almost the end of September and I am just now writing about my life in August. OPPS! So basically I am going to catch up hopefully before Oktoberfest starts so I can get back on track.

The latest blog is dedicated to my dear friend Lydia. She was my closest friend here in Munich. It was never a dull moment when she was around and we had so much fun together all the time. Our favorite thing to do was go to the club together and make fun of the Germans. ;) It was very sad to see her go on August 4th but we had a lot of fun before she left.

Her host family had a nice little BBQ for her and it was a blast. We all sat around and talked, drank wine, and then proceeded to jump on the trampoline after feeling a bit tipsy. It was so much fun. I'm sure her host parents thought we were a bunch of crazy people (which I guess isn't to far off). Tiffany and I made her a nice little going away photo album which was very cute. We also bought her an American flag shirt and made her wear it on her way home. hahaha

Lydia looking very German in her American flag shirt

Squirtle and Lydia

The gang minus squirtle and sarah

Alexa

Lauren

Aladin and Lydia....awwww!!!

Best friends forever!

Two of my favorite girls

The night before Lydia flew home we all went out to the the club together for one more night in the city. Lydia and I have been trying to get into this club called 089 but every time we tried they wouldn't let us in. We always ended up at the stupid Max and Mortiz which played the worst music EVER! So it was our mission to finally get into that club on her last night. We got super lucky because we had no problem getting in. That night was probably one of the best nights Lydia and I ever had. We were having so much fun dancing and making complete fools out of ourselves. At the end of the night (around 6am) we went to Mcdonalds to have a bite to eat and then afterwards Lydia and I decided it was a great idea to run through the huge fountain in Karlsplatz. We got so soaked but OMG was it hilarious. It was the perfect way to end the night. I miss her so much already and I can't wait to see her when I get home to Cali.

The next morning we had to be up at 9am to get Lydia back to her host families house and drive to the airport. So on basically no sleep we took her to the airport and sent her on her way. It was so cute cause we all cried when we were saying goodbye.

 I am very happy that she lives in California so I get to see her again when I go home. I miss you Lydia and can't wait to have some more awesome times together.