Merry Christmas!

We are finally in Riga, and have experienced a very Latvian Christmas celebration. My relatives have been so gracious and kind and have included us in all of the family traditions. When we arrived in Riga, we were pretty wiped- Rome was amazing (I will tell more about that later)- but there was no time to be tired because Christmas festivities were in full swing at the house. We unloaded our stuff, but immediately got to work making gingerbread cookies, and helping Ieva prepare the big meal. We had to pick Stephanie up from the airport (she couldn't get a flight into Riga, so she flew into Vilnius, Lithuania, and took a bus into Riga) and then we went straight to Christmas Eve Mass. We didn't understand a single word, but could kind of sing along with the songs we recognized. During the sermon, we were trying so hard not to laugh because EVERYONE was falling asleep, even the other church leaders on stage. It was pretty comical that the only ones really paying attention were the three Americans sitting in the front who could not understand a single word being said.

Then we came back and continued to help Ieva prepare the meal. Stephanie and I won the award for slowest potato peelers EVER. I'm pretty sure Ieva could have peeled them in half the time that it took both of us to do it. I have a feeling I will become a master potato peeler by July.

Finally, Christmas dinner was ready. In Latvia, it is traditional to set out nine dishes on the table. I'm not really sure why. So our nine dishes were delicious Latvian pork, goose wings, this bean and sour cream salad, traditional dark Latvian bread, broiled potatoes, saurkraut with bacon, olives I brought back from Spain, bread with duck pate, and little clementine oranges. We had a feast. Then we had wine, coffee, and this delicious Latvian cake. Everyone had a little foobie (food-baby) by the end of the night.

Then we had a little visitor ring the doorbell, and it was SANTA!! He came in with a big bag of gifts. This is pretty traditional in Latvia. On Christmas Eve, a neighbor that does not have kids comes to the house dressed as Santa, and brings in all of the gifts- they do not differentiate between presents brought by Santa and presents from family members- and pulls them out one by one. As your name is called on the gift, you have to perform for Santa, either by singing a song, dancing a traditional dance, or reciting a poem or something. If you do well enough, Santa gives you a present. It was great fun, and all of us Americans had to perform twice. Much laughter and happiness filled the room.

Today we slept in so late, the latest I have ever slept in for Christmas morning. We went to the Old Town of Riga, and walked through the christmas markets there, where people come to sell their goods. Latvian children were performing traditional songs, and it put us in the christmas spirit.

We came home to another delicious goose dinner, and then Skyped our loved ones back home, who were just beginning their Christmas festivities.

There is nothing like Christmas time.

The Side of Rome they Don't Show You in the Movies

I know I have a lot to catch up on still. I haven't mentioned anything on here about my time in Lyon with the Descotes Family, and I will, when I have time after Christmas, I promise.

But I had to tell you all a little bit about our arrival in Rome so far.

When we were leaving Lyon, we were unsure if we were actually going to be able to leave, because there was a strike amongst the security personnel, and apparently before we arrived and during our time there, about 1000 flights had been cancelled. Apparently, going on strike is a very French thing to do, especially when there are laws that allow them absolute job security once they are hired. But we were able to get through security and board our plane on time, everything was fine.

So then we land in Rome. We had to board the Leonardo Express, but things are not that clear in Rome, so it was difficult to figure out which tickets we needed to buy where, and then the machines didn't like our credit cards. So then we finally buy a ticket, and it says our train is leaving right at that moment. Well there was only one train in the station at the time, so I assumed that was our train, so I take off running for it. After you buy a ticket, you have to validate it in these machines for it to be useful, so I leave Fabricio behind while he's fumbling around trying to validate the ticket, and almost run this lady over trying to get on the train. Fabricio quickly follows, and we find a seat. We are still assuming we are on the right train. About 30 minutes later, we see a map that shows the stops of our train, but we don't see our stop. We get a little nervous, but maybe we just didn't see it right. Fifteen more minutes pass by, and I start to freak out, that we aren't going the right way, especially cause it's getting dark, and the graffiti along the train track walls is increasing with each meter we go away from the airport, with less and less people waiting to board the train. I finally decide to just ask someone, and this nice women tells me in Italian, that I am not on the right train, and need to take two other metros to get where I need to go. So instead we get off at the next stop, cross to the other side, and take the train for an hour back to the airport to start from the beginning. When we arrive, we see the Leonardo Express, board it, and hope our ticket is still valid. As the train worker comes by, we both hold our breath, praying we don't get thrown off, but he ends up taking it, everything is good.

So then we arrive in Termini station. This place is HUGE and busy and everyone is going every which direction. As we make our way to the metro, we see a group of policeman (very loudly) confronting someone and apprehending him, and everyone is trying to offer us help, but really all they want is money, and we are just looking around telling ourselves we are not in kansas anymore. And finally, finally, finally, we make it to our hostel.

Rome is very much a metropolitan city, and while there are the sweet romantic parts that everyone sees in the movies, there are also the everyday, city life parts as well. And we definitely are not in Kansas anymore.

Gracias, Barcelona.

Our time in Barcelona has come to an end. We have been so active here, with every moment being used to experience some new thing in the city. So now I finally have time to catch up on everything we did there since.

The morning after we arrived, we tried to go to Montserrat, a monastery an hour outside the city, but we didn't realize how long the walk was and we missed the bus. We ended up in a new part of town, so we decided to walk around. We stumbled upon this everyday market, where vendors sell their everyday goods. No one spoke english, but I am proud to say that my spanish was well enough for me to taste and purchase some olives, order cappucinos, and ask for medicines for a stuffy nose. We were directed to la farmacia, where you can get everything you need pertaining to your health (there are no "over-the-counter" medicines that you can buy at the grocery store). We stumbled around a couple more stores and streets, and finally walked back to our hostal, where we waited for our friend Stephanie to arrive from the Netherlands. While we waited, we talked with the bartender in our hostal, who is from Australia; he ended up in Barcelona because he was traveling around, loved the city, decided to stay, asked for a job, and was given one. He has been there six months, and doesn't have any intention of going back to Australia soon. It's a tempting lifestyle.

Once Steph arrived, we walked through El Raval neighborhood, up through Las Ramblas to La Boqueteria, a huge outdoor market where they sell everything from interesting fruits to every part of an animal you could ever wish for. We were told that this market is famous for juice, and there is an obvious reason why. Fresh juice made from all different types and combinations of fruit - so delicious I bought two. We continued to walk up through Las Ramblas to La Plaza de Catalunya, where we stopped in Zara and did some shopping. From there we walked across the city to the  bullfighting stadium, which is now being used as a theater since bullfighting was outlawed in Catalonia, the spanish state Barcelona is in. From there we walked to La Sagrada Familia, a HUGE church designed by Gaudi. It was incredible, there are not enough words to describe how immense and mesmerizing it is- there will be video and pictures soon, but they will not do it justice either. From there we walked to Pasieg de Gracia, where the other Gaudi houses are, and more shopping. Gaudi was truly an architectural genius.

From there we walked across the city again to The Magic Fountain, a show with music and lights that plays along with this huge fountain in front of a palace or museum or something. After the show, we walked back to our hostal, where I took una siesta. When I woke up to eat dinner, it was about 11 pm. We happened to find a tapas bar still open at 12am (it wasn't that hard) and so we ate. We ordered jamon bodega (thinly sliced ham), gambas planchas (crawdad-looking things), bombas (balls of mashed potatoes fried), and alitas de pollo (fried chicken). Everything was delicious. From there we walked down to the water and found this local bar. It is known for making interesting shots, and they had a menu of over 2000 options. Two interesting ones were the Harry Potter, where the bar tender sprinkled something on it to make it burst into flames, and the Boyscout, where the bartender handed us sticks with marshmallows on it, lit small pool of the bar on fire, and we roasted our marshmallows in the flame. These Barcelonians are quite creative.

The next day we rented bikes, and rode them down to the boardwalk and beach, where we rode past the olympic village and the mediterranean. From there we went to the post office (the most beautiful post office I've seen) to send some postcards, and then we rode into La Barrica Gotica. We stopped at this little cafe and ordered churros con chocolate, where they give you a cup of melted chocolate that you dip your churros in, and then drink the chocolate: muy delicioso! We walked around the area, saw La Catedral and the christmas markets (where they only sell christmas figurines and decorations), then continued to ride through the city to Parque Guella. It was definitely a hike to get there, but it was so worth it because we got several views of the whole city. From there we rode our bikes to Camp Nou, the stadium that F.C. Barcelona plays in! On the way, I have to confess, I totally fell on my bike (twice), once into a parked car to avoid a group of people, and then sequentially into the group of people I was trying to avoid. Everyone and everything was totally fine (except my pride got a little bruised) and the rest of the biking was successful.

By this time it was freezing cold, and we still had to ride across town to get to our hostal, so we stopped in Starbucks for some warm drinks. It was the local teen hangout- reminded me so much of America. After trying a last minute attempt to find the Olympic Stadium, which we were not successful in, we went back to the hostal, and I took another nap. For dinner we ordered pizza through the hostal, then took the metro to this artsy, hip part of town, followed this group of spaniards to whichever bar they were going to, and had the bartenders special drink. After some good conversation and people-watching, we got back on the metro and went to bed. Needless to say, I was pretty spent.

The next morning we woke up, had one last cafe con leche and got on the bus back to the airport, time for our adventure in france.

Overall I absolutely loved the people of Spain- everyone was so kind and we were voluntarily offered help several times, and no one was ever annoyed that we did not speak great spanish- and Barcelona is truly a vibrant and colorful city- one that I hope to visit again sometime. Adios.

Viva Barcelona

I arrived in Barcelona on the fifteenth, after a 3.5 hour plane ride with this group of Russians who literally talked (loudly) and laughed (loudly) for the entire time. Sleep was not possible. My friend Fabricio met me in the airport, and we went to our hostal. Our hostal is absolutely wonderful. Free linens, free breakfast, free wifi with computers, free lockers, and every night the bartenders take everyone to a new discoteca. We are a five minute walk from Las Ramblas, the main tourist and shopping street.

When we arrived, we walked down to the harbor, and then found a cafe to eat at. We had our first tapas, choclate biscuits and pasta, along with cappucino and hot chocolate. We then walked around Las Ramblas and the surrounding area for two hours. There are so many nooks and crannies, every turn brings a new surprise. We went out to eat dinner at around 21:30. There are so many choices, so many little ¨hole in the wall¨ places, it took us an hour and a half to make a decision. But we made the best decision- Paella Mixta con Sangria. Muy delicioso!! By the time we were done with our meal, it was 23:30, but there were still new groups of people, families included, coming in to start their meal! Barcelona is truly the city of insomnia.


PS I will post pictures and videos soon.

Home Sweet Home

Made it to Riga today. I traveled a total of 26 hours, and passed through 5 different airport. LAX->Detroit->London Heathrow->London Gatwick->Riga. Someone from the family I stayed with picked me up from the airport and we went straight to dinner. I ate avocado and asparagus soup. It wasn't great. Note to self: you're not in California anymore where all fruit stays in season all year around. I should have thought about where they would get avocados in the middle of December. A mistake I won't make twice.

Other than that, everything worked out so well today. The room I'm staying in has a little fireplace, and it is so cozy and comforting. One day to rest, and then it's back into travel mode.

Only 12 hours before I leave to the airport. Re-packing my bag for the third time.