PRAHA, Czech Republic

Another fun and successful trip! We went to prague, in czech it is called Praha. I got a list of things to do from Dani Winston because she studied abroad there last semester. Our flight was a little later, 11:00am which was actually really nice. Katie and I flew there and we met Haley at the airport in prague. Other girls from berkeley who are in Barcelona, Gaelin and Celine told us they were going to prague the same weekend so we just booked out hostel with them so we could stay with people we knew. It was called Hostel Elf which was hilarious and it was not really close to the center of the city so I was kind of upset at first and wished we just made our own plan but i ended up being happy that we were with that group. Celine and Gaelin are in Chi O at Berk and were meeting other chi-os studying abroad in Rome and in the Netherlands, so it was like a chi-o reunion and then me, katie and haley. They were really nice and I like meeting people from Berkeley that I never knew before. I definatly wouldnt be in that house haha but they were a lot of fun. It was also Haley's first time in a hostel, and she would have much rather paid more for a hotel but i made her do it with us. It wasnt the nicest place in the world but it was totally fine. We all were in one room. After we put our stuff down the three of us went into the middle of town, called Old Town Square. We took a bus there and figuring it out was funny because the money there is not the euro, they have the Crown, which is sooo weird. 1 euro was 20 crowns so we got like 1000 crown bills and 50 crown coins. It was weird having that change. Old town square is soooo beautiful. The buildings and apartments have the most interesting designs and colors, like nothing you would ever see in America and like nothing ide seen before. Haley and I thought it kind of reminded us of disneyland because it was so cute and like a fairy-tale. There are cobble stone streets and small little roads. In old town square there is the famous Astronomical Clock which shows the rotation of the planets and the time and rings every hour and huge crowds gather to watch. We walked around and went into some shops, every souvenir shop sells fur hats and I wanted a hur headband but they only had real fur ones that were expensive. Everyone said prague was "soooooooooo cheap" and we didnt really find it that cheap. I spent the same amount as I have on my other trips. Beer was cheap, which is what they are known for, but food was regular priced like in europe, which is expensive in us dollars. We stopped in a cafe to get a snack, and I tried the famous czech beer called Pilsner. It was good and cheap. After we walked to the Charles Bridge, which is the famous bridge that crosses over the river from Old town to Lesser town. It is beautiful!! There are cool statues on the sides and street performers and people selling things along the bridge. Dani told us we had to walk across it and hold hands because its romantic, so we did. Then we crossed back over and set out to find this restaurant for dinner that Dani said had good czech food. It was called Kolovna. The czech language was so weird, but really cool, but it was hard to catch on to so I feel so ignorant not even being able to say hello of thank you, cause I kept forgetting. But most people spoke english. I am pretty good at looking at maps and finding my way around so I did that for our group because haley and katie both have zero sense of direction. Haley i already knew like doesnt know how to get around and just cabs everywhere, but Katie is legitimately retarded and I get really frustrated sometimes. I like being able to get around and I could eaily do it by myself, so its nice I feel mature and independent. We went to the restaurant and it was really cool and was like a pub. Katie and I tried the Goulash, a czech local dish. It was sooooooo good!! It is meat in an amazing sauce with potato pancakes and dumplings. It tasted exactly like brisket and was so good with the bread and potatos. We then went back to the hostel to meet up with the other girls who wanted to do a bar crawl. Dani had told us it wasnt fun but many other recommendations said you have to do the bar crawl in prague so we decided just to go. We met at the clock and they took us to a chruch looking building where there were all these people drinking and a dance floor. It was crowded near the bar and there were people playing beer pong, which was weird we were confused why we were in prague but it was exactly like a frat party haha. We ended up meeting these nice guys from Penn State so it was kind of fun. The "next" bar was literally just going up the stairs and it was more club like, and there was a cross lit up, and again we were just confused but it was funny. We went to the next bar, and walking there ran into Dani Stern who is studying in prague for the semester. It was funny because we wanted to see her, but its just a small city its easy to run into people. It was fun, but then I wanted to go to this club Dani Winston had told us to go to but everyone was tired and Haley was sick so we just went back to the hostel. The next day Haley, Katie and I went out because the other girls had been there for 2 days before us. We went to Prague Castel, across the bridge from the old town. It was beautiful but mostly just had amazing views of the city. Prague is seriously beautiful. There was a cool cathedral up there and we went into some parts of the castel. It was interesting to learn that Prague was communist until the early 90ies. After the castel we walked back across the Charles Bridge and met Dani and her friend in old town square for lunch. We went to a place called Bohemian Bagel, which was sooo good. I had an amazing salad and an onion bagel with cream cheese- definately not czech food but sooo good because its hard to find a good salad in barcelona. Then we went to the John Lennon Wall. I wish I had a guide book or travel book about prague when we were there to know a little more about the history of the places we were. But the Lennon wall is a wall covered in paint and graffitti started by John Lennon advocating for peace. There were peace signs and beatles lyrics written all over and its so colorful and cool looking. We took really cute pictures. Its just a wall off a random street so anyone is allowed to write on it, so we put our initials on it. I thought it was so cool. After that we walked from old town to new town to a place called Wesceslas Square. On the way stopped in a shop called "The New Yorker" which was like their department store. I got a cute sweater with fauz fur for 180 crown, so like 10 euro. Wesceslas sqaure was soo pretty, and has a big government building at the end of it. There are these food trucks on every block that dani winston told us about that are open all night and she would also go there after the clubs. We got "hot wine" from one of the trucks which literally tasted like hot red wine and was kind of good, expecially because it was soooo cold there! Then we went back to the hostel to rest and we were going to go to this italian place on the river that dani recommended but ended up not wanting to go to a big sit down dinner, and having to go all the way back to the center. Haley was sick so we just stayed in, but the rest of us went back to Kolovna because the others girls hadnt been and wanted to and we werent that hungry so were just going to get beer. I ended up trying the goulash soup which was good and then radler which was beer with sprite which was soo good. I know it sounds like all I do is drink but i just want to try the things people tell me are famous in that city. Then we went to a random bar and it was so funny it was a biker bar and they played classic rock. Fat girls danced on the counters. We tried this czech alcohol and it tasted like christmas. Then we went to the famous club there called Karlovy Lazne, which was right on the river and was five stories. Every story played a different type of music. It was probably my favorite club ive been to so far because it wasnt too hugeee and every floor was different and fun. The next day we went with all the girls and walked around the Jewish Quarter. There are a lot of old synagouges and there is a jewish cemetary which was really interesting to see, especially for me, haley and celine, who were the only jews of the group. We bought these little hamza bracelets to add to our jewish bracelet collection. Then we went to lunch at a place called Bakeshop that dani recommended. I got a "savory pie" which was like a tomator and goat cheese quish and it was really good, but not even cheap! Then we headed to the airport. It was sooo much fun and a lot of cool new experiences but I didnt love it as much as I loved paris. Im glad I didnt study abroad there mainly because of the cold, and because it is really smally. We walked around the same things all the time and did almost everything in that weekend. We had done more than dani stern had who is abroad there. Overall another amazing trip and soo cool to see a difference country and culture.

Paris Pics!

Haley and I outside the Lourve

Crepe Stand in the Bastille. SOOO GOOD. 

Haley on the Ferris Wheel

Walking through the Tuilleries to the Ferris Wheel

In the Maraii (Jewish Quarter) walking to lunch

MUFFINS

Me, Delaney, and Haley at Le Cab

HALEY AND YIANNIS PAPAGORGHUI!!!!

Im fat at Las Du Falafel 

Savory Waffle at random place in Bastille. 

Louis Vuitton Exhibit 

View from the Ferris Wheel- sunset. 

Seeing the light show as we drove by

PAREE!!!

This weekend I went to Paris. Every weekend is better than the one before. Its amazing. I cant even believe I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to do this for a semester, its literally a 4 month vacation. I had a little bit later flight, 10am on friday and it was sooo nice being able to sleep in a little later. It made such a big difference not being tired the whole weekend. Grace was on my flight which was nice, and together we figured out how to take the train to the metro from the airport. I went with her to their hostel, they were staying in the Latin Quarter. It was sooo cute! There was a small outdoor market right when we got off the metro and their hostel was on the cutest street with a million cute stores, bakeries, crepe places, cheese shops, and little cafes. We met up with Sam and their other friend from IU and we had lunch. I ordered a cheese plate because it was a kind of expensive place. It was amazing with 4 different cheeses. Bad news was i realized I forgot my lactaid pills ahahaha. After lunch I got a cab to meet up with Haley and her roommate Delaney, who also goes to michigan. I met them at the Bastille at a cafe. We got crepes with nutella that were unbelievable. We ate them as we walked back to their dorm. Haley had told me her place was shitty and in the ghetto, but i thought the area was really cute, it was just kind of far from a lot of the main things so we had to metro everywhere. Her dorm is pretty small, and there are four of them in one room. Two of them were gone for the weekend but I still slept on the air mattress haley bought for me and it took up the entire floor haha. So i felt kind of bad imposing for three nights because they have such little space. But it was sooooo much fun being with haley and going around paris with her. After I dropped my stuff off we took the metro to the Lourve. I actually remembered so much from when I was there with mom and the frederich's in 9th grade, so it was fun reminisicng and remembering some of the places. I also liked that I had done all the touristy stuff so I could experience paris more like an abroad student there or even a local and do more things off the regular track. So we didnt go inside the Lourve but walked from their through the Tuilleries and to the farris wheel. It was a GORGEOUS day out! It was like 65 degrees and sunny, and Haley and them said it was the nicest day theyve seen, so I got really lucky. I expected it to be freezing there and it wasnt that bad at all, all weekend. Haley and I went on the farris wheel and the sun was setting and it was so beautiful. We could see the Eiffel Tower with the sun setting behind it, and the Champs Elysee, and the Arch de Triumph, and the Tuilleries and the Lourve. It was so beautiful. After we walked around the area right to the right of the Tuilleries and Lourve, which had really cute shopping and cafes. We went into the Channel store. Then Delaney, whos mom had lived in paris for 10 years and her sister studies abroad there for a year (she was so good at french so its so lucky/nice haley has her to get her around and say everything cause haley doesnt know any french haha) got invited by a family friend to come over for Shabbat dinner that night. She had heard the son was really attractive, and he said she could bring friends so we decided to go. We did not know what to expect but I was so excited because you can go out to dinner anywhere in the world, but this was a once in a life time experience and so cool we got the opportunity to go to a local's house for dinner. Their apartment was in the 16th arrondessment, which is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Paris. They lived in the Penthouse and their place was soo cute, and you could see the Eiffel Tower from their balconey. The mom and dad were sooo nice and the son, was veryyyy attractive, and Jewish! I wanted haley to date him. They were sooo nice to us. They spoke perfect english, and were asking us all about what we were doing abroad and it was so nice for them to invite complete strangers into their house. We had wine and olives and sat by the fire while other people arrived. Literally everyone was beautiful. Other guys and girls came and they were most around 21 or 22, which is like my age, but they seemed soooo much older. They all had jobs already. In France, you go straight to law school or grad school from high school. Some of them were already tax lawyers, and just a year older than me! It was so interesting getting to talk to them and hear about their schools and jobs and lives in Paris. They were all so trendy and chic and it was just the epitome of a beautiful Parisian night. The dinner was also AMAZING. Good meat, which I have been missing, and then veggies and cheese and then the best dessert ever, oh and challa! Everyone in paris smokes cigarettes, literally everyone, and they all smoked at the dinner table, which was kinda gross but made it that more Parisian. They would speak english and french and I loved just listening to them talk. After one of the guys, Martin made us go out with them, we were so confused we were just in a cab with him haha. From the cab I got to see the Eiffel tower as it was all light up and sparkling. He took us to this club off the Champs Elysee. Everyone was literally dressed soooo cute. Everyone is paris was beautiful and dressed amazingly. We were all tired and not really in the mood for a club, but we went in anyways and there were not many people inside and it seemed like a younger club. So we left Martin at the "tween club" and went home. The next day we went to the Maraii, which is the jewish quarter. I lovedddddd this area. It had the cutest streets filled with cute cafes, nice restaurants, really nice shops, and then a lot of jewish shops and fallafel places. The three of us ate at a cafe called Le Philisophe. Haley and I got salads and they were amazing! And the bread was incredible too. After we got muffins at this muffin shop that looked so good. I got a chocolate chip banana one and it was so good. The food was so amazing all weekend. Then we went to the Louise Vuttoin exhibit that was at a museum in the Maraii. It was soo cool, we saw all the trunks that was originally only what they made. Then Delaney went home and Haley and I went to Saint Germain. We walked around the main street and then off to some sides streets which were really cute, and we got big macaroons. They were good, soooo sugary. We went home and rested for a while, and were going to meet up with my roommates for dinner, but it never worked out, and we were all just hungry so we ended up going to an Italian restaurant right down the street from Haleys because they told me it was good and not expensive, but everything in Paris was pretty expensive. At least the pasta was really good. I bought haley and Delaney a bottle of champagne and we drank it in their room as we got ready to go out. We had all heard that the best club in Paris was called Le Cab so we wanted to go. It was in the coolest location, and then you went underground to get to the club. It was really cool and we were the only americans there! We might some random people from germany and Greece. Haley made out with this really cute guy from Cypress named Yiannis Papageorghui which has been a source of lasting entertainment. Mom, don’t tell Robin, although im sure haley will tell her because she thinks she now has aids because she is the biggest germaphobe ever. It was so funny and he was so cute! Now he wants to take her on a date but she wont. It was such a funny night. When we wanted to leave though it was impossible to find a cab that was available. We walked around for an hour at 4am trying to get a cab, and walked all the way to a hotel and they were rude to us about getting a cab. Those were the only downsides to Paris are that it was so hard to get a cab, and some of the people were SO RUDE. So the stereotype is true. But Delaney spoke amazing French and they were still rude to us. The next day we went back to the Maraii to go to this famous falafel place called Las Du Falafel. There was a huge line to get it to go, but we got lucky and got  table inside right away. It was literally the best thing ive ever eaten.  Haley says she goes all the time and Im sooo jealous. I also met my friend Julia from Berkeley whose in Pi Phi and studying abroad in Paris. They had been planning to get falafel too so it worked out. After we walked around the maraii and went shopping. Haley and I got matching evil eye bracelets. Then Haley and I went to the Musee D’Orsey. I had never been there and it was unbelievable. We spent a long time there but we could have spent all day. They have so many famous works in their, and I recognized a bunch from the one art history class I took sophomore year. We saw the famous Manet painting Olympia and other works by Renoir, Degas, Monet, Pissaro and others. Then we walked down the Champs Elysee which was so beautiful, and went to the famous bakery and restaurant called Laduree. They are famous for their macaroons. We got a table and the inside of this place was emacculate. It looked like an old French house. It was such a beautiful atmosphere, and we got 3 vanilla macaroons each which literally melt in your mouth they are so delicious. We shopped a little on the Champs, then walked to the Arch de Triumph. Then went back to Haleys, and decided to just go to dinner in the Bastille instead of a nice French restaurant because I didn’t want to spend money and we were tired, and she lives far some most good places. We went to this random places that looked interesting because it had a picture of a waffle with tomato and mozzarella on it. It was like a health food place, and also looked like they were known for frozen yogurt with fruit on it. Everything looked really good. We got the tomoato mozz waffle which also had cream cheese and came with a salad and it was so weird but so good. It was the best weekend. I loved being with haley and exploring the city. There is sooo much more I wanted to do, so im kind of thinking about going back after my program ends or something, and it will be nice in the spring. 

this week in barcaaaa.

Another week went by soooo fast. Its crazy how quick this is going by because there is so much to do and im having so much fun. On Monday I walked around before class and found this adorable crepe place on our street. I got a salad/crepe drink combo and it was so good. It was all locals and I sat there and people watched and also looked at a spanish news paper which was cool. At night we stayed in which was a nice break and very relaxing. Tuesday Katie and I went to this famous sandwhich place that everyone who comes abroad here loves called Bo De B. It was like a medetaranian sandwhich that you make yourself, and it was really good. Katie had to go to class but I walked to the beach and laid on the sand for a while. It was sunny out but still kind of cold. It was really nice laying there but got too windy and cold after a while. There were a good amount of people out, so im excited for when its actually hot out! Then I walked back through Barceloneta and the El Born which is a cute, trendy area with a lot of cool little cafes and shops. I went to corte ingle and finally found a cute pair of running shoes! Grace and Sam cooked chicken cutlets for dinner, which is their specialty in long island appartmently, its like breaded chicken, and it was sooo good. I also know how to make rice, pasta, stir fry, shrimp, and salads! Im such a chef. Wednesday I went to the gym before class-- im using this card a girl gave to grace that she was going to pay her for but then ended up getting a membership at a different gym and now I just have this card haha. So i used it for the week but going to give it back to her now. Its a really nice gym though. I did an ab work out and it was al in spanish and I was the only girl haha. Wednesday night we went out to Chupitos then Broadbar. It was fun, we got invited randomly into vip and got free champagne, but I came home early. Today I walked around Eixample trying to take pictures for my photo class but kinda failed. For dinner Katie and I made bomb stir fry with brown rice, brocoli, mushroom and shrimp. Im going to Paris tomorrow!!!! Im sooo excited but also overwhellmed going to such a big city, and wanting to do so much in just a weekend.

Sevilla Pictures

El Catedral

Grace eating

pretty sevilla. outdoor bar where everyone stands. this is like 2pm

crux campo

Coley, their friend studying in sevilla, Alyssa, Maggie, Grace, Sam near the fountain

Alcazar

Triana Bridge

cafe near the river

Me, Katie, Lindsay, Nina at the river

Me and Lindsay at Plaza de Espana

Barcelona!

Me and Lindsay at her hosue

Lindsay, Eli, Katie. funny

Prentice, Eli, Lara, Me, Lindsay and Emily

Sevilla!!!

This weekend we went to sevilla, which is a small city in the south of spain. Katie went to Madrid with cea, a different group, because her parents are coming when our group goes, but me, Coley, Sam, and Grace and a lot of other people from Barca all went to sevilla. My friend Lindsay from berk is studying abroad there so I stayed with her which was so nice seeing her and meeting her friends and also not having to deal or pay for a hostel or hotel. It was nice that all of us were on the same flights there and back. When we got there I went with Sam and Grace to find their hostel, which was in a really good location near the big Cathedral. Sevilla is much smaller and more quaint than Barcelona. Barca had really big wide streets and highways with cars, taxis, and motorcycles everywhere, and sevilla had a much smaller town feel. There are orange trees on almost every street which is so cute. Apparently they are really sour to eat but are used to make marmalade. In the center of the city is where the cathedral is and there are horse and buggies that take people on tours, and it is where the main shopping is. We went to lunch at an adorable cafe with outdoor tables in Placa de San Francisco, which Lindsay and I both noticed for the name. Grace, Sam and I ordered sangria and chicken salad sandwhiches which were really good. Coley was staying with wisconsin people in a hotel, which was really far away so they had to cab to the center. After lunch we walked around the shopping area, and all of us got this really cute scarves for only 2 euros! We then went back to their hostel to check in, because I was waiting to meet up with lindsay.  It was off a cute street with so many little tapas bars and pretty cafes and restaurants. We got 2 euro beers at this place right there, which was near this pretty fountain near the cathedral which is where I was going to meet Lindsay. When she came, the four of us went inside a castel that was also right there, called Alcazar. It had beautiful architecture inside, a lot of arch ways and pillars, and sevilla is also known for the tiles and ceramic art. There is so much detail put into everything, its so fun and interesting to see. There was so many compartments and rooms, you could have spent all day there. We saw peacocks too which was cool. It was also gorgeous weather!! Sevilla is supposed to be hotter because its in the south, but barca had amazing weather this weekend too. But it was interesting after seeing all the orange trees and palm trees we kind of compared sevilla to la and barcelona to ny.  After Alcazar we walked along the river, which runs through the middle of the city and there are bridges you can walk across. One of the bridges was designed by Effiel. Lindsay lived in Triana, which was on the other side of the river, about a 15 minute walk from the cathedral. We were walking along the river and passed by a little hut that was a bar and was blasting techno music. People were all outside drinking and hanging out by the river because it was so nice out. We got mojitos and sat in the sun and tried to tan a little. We also passed by one of the original bull fighting arenas. It was painted yellow and white which was common on buildings around there. Then the 4 of us went to a churro stand, also along the river, and got the famous churros and chocolate. They have them in barca too, and they were nothing that special. The chocolate is more like hot chocolate than chocolate sauce. We met up with one of Lindsay's roommates, Nina, who is a DG at cal! She was sooo cool and I really liked getting to know her over the trip and its so nice to meet people I never knew who go to cal and I can be friends with when we go back! Then we went back to Lindsay and Nina's house. They are also doing cea, but got a really lucky and cool living situation. They live with another dg girl from cal named katie, that I have met, and then with 4 boys. They have a house mom that comes and cooks lunch and dinner for them, but doesnt live there. The house was really cute and spanish looking with tiles and a terrace on the top. The house mom told them not to have people over, so I had to be sneaky and come at times when she wasnt there. I told lindsay ide stay in the hostel but she wanted me to stay with her. I really liked all her roommates, and they are like a little family and its really nice for them. Lindsay and I went out for dinner and met up with another one of her friends Lara who I also really liked. We went tapas bar hoping! At the first place we got a potato cake thingy and each got a beer. At the second place we ordered things we didnt really know what they were, one was a fish on bread and the other were little fried cheesy fish stick things, and more beers. The third place we sat down and got sangria and then lindsay and her friend ordered chicken and calamarie, and this place wasnt really tapas, they were full ordered so it sucked because it ended up being expensive. I also by accident knocked over my glass and it shattered...ooops. After din we went back to her house and got ready and drank with her housemates in their kitchen. I really liked one of her roommates named Eli who goes to Vassar. He was such a nerdy little jew and i loved him. We all went out to their main bar area called Calle Betis, which is right along the river. Its just one bar after another. The main one they go to is called big ben. We had these shots that tasted like caramel which was cool, and this lady was walking around selling light up brings and wands and I got a ring for a euro, haha. After there we were supposed to go to another area, but somehow Lindsay and I ended up in a cab alone, and couldnt find anyone which sucked. I was exhausted from getting up so early and traveling so we ended up going home. The next morning we slept in, and when we got up their house mom was there making lunch, so I couldn’t leave! That was the only thing that sucked because I could’ve met up with my friends and done more site seeing, but I had to wait in her room while they all ate lunch. I was okay because I was still exhausted and a little sick, but kinda sucked I couldn’t go out and see more of the city in the day, but I still feel like I got a great experience there by staying with them and getting to know her friends. After me, Lindsay, Katie, Nina, Eli, Lara and their other roommate named Prentice, and their other friend Emily, walked around and went to a café on the river. We got a cheese platter and chicken nuggets for all of us and they both were so good. The beer there is called Cruz Campos and it is really good, way better than the cheap beer in Barcelona called estrella. After we walked along the river to the site that sevilla is most famous for which is Plaza de Espana. It is a huge building that curves and it so beautiful. There is a moat running along it and you can rent paddle boats, but the line was really long. A really pretty park Maria Luisa surrounds the whole square. Along the building there are tile benches for almost every city in spain, so I took a picture with the Barcelona one, which was beautiful. Im not sure what the building was or is, and Lindsay and her friends didn’t know either which is weird, but they have only been there for 2 weeks. After we walked through the shopping area and went into some cute stores, but everything there we have in barca. After I met up with Grace and Sam so Lindsay could go have dinner at their house. We hung out at their hostel and showered and then went to a bar that was having a free flamenco show! We met up with Coley, Maggie, and Alyssa. It was cool because I found the place by asking people in Spanish because it was on a small side street and I was really proud of myself for getting us there. The bar was cool because it was all locals. The flamenco show was so cool, it was this one lady dancing with one guy singing and one guy playing the guitar. It was really pretty, she made a lot of facial expressions. After I went back over to Lindsays and hung out with her and her roomates. We went to Betis again and then to an area called Alfalpha. There we went into a club and it was really fun, reminded me a lot of Barcelona. It was such a fun trip. Our flight was at 12pm the next day because everyone wanted to get back for the superbowl, which was stupid because it wasn’t on here until 12:30am!! So I had to wake up early and go across the river with all my stuff to meet up with the roomies and go to the airport. I was exhausted and ended up sleeping when we got home, which sucked because it was gorgeous out! For the superbowl we went to a bar on La Rambla called Sports Bar. We stayed for the first half but then went home. 

Lisbon pics

Mark, Zach, Gaelin and Katie at Oasis Backpackers Inn Hostel 

Trolly. 

Ani, Me, Katie, Gaelin, and Nicole at the famous Arch

Katie and I at the view spot 

At castle Sant Jorge

awesome street art

Discovery of the World Monument- Belem

Pastreis De Belem

Coaches

Katie and Nicole at Pena Palace

The outside of the Palace

Julie and I

Gowns at the Museum of Fashion and Design 

Lisboa, Portugal

This weekend we went on our first trip of being abroad!!!! It was amazing, to say the least. I had not really heard much about Lisbon accept that it had beautiful beaches, but a girl in my photojournalism class who goes to school in sf and i really like, sent me a list of things to do there that her friend studying abroad had sent her, which was sooo helpful. Our flight was at 7;30 so we had to wake up at 5 and take the metro to the aerobus that leaves from placa catalunya and goes straight to the airport in 30 minutes which is so nice. Waiting for the metro we Katie and I see a group of guys who look american and that are coming home from their night out. They started talking to us and it turns out they were Aaron Krug´s best friends from Mich! He had told me about them and them about me and it was soooo funny. They seem really nice and I want to hang out with them sometime while here, probably when Aaron comes here at the end of feb. The Barcelona airport is absolutely stunning, its so cool we get to fly in and out of such a nice place. We met up with two guys we met from cea who live with the berkeley girls we have been haning out with. Mark goes to san diego state and Zach is from minnesota and goes to a school in washington. They are the nicest guys ever and it was so much fun having them on the trip. We had all heard the cabs in Lisbon are veryyyy cheap so when we got there the 4 of us decided to take a cab because splitting it 4 ways would be cheaper and easier than metro and bus when we didnt know where we were going. We got to the hostel and the meter said 11 something euro and the guy was saying something in poruguese about how we owe 25. He kept pointing to each of us saying 5 and it was very weird so we just gave him 25, but then realized we got majorly ripped off! The lady at our hostel said cabs from the airport are never more than 13 euros, and we all felt so ban. The hostel was sooo cool! It was like a house, it had a nice kitchen and dining area, a big living room area with a bar, and an outside bar area. We were meeting up with a group of berkeley girls who got their the night before-- Gaelin, Nicole, Taylor and her frined Julie from new Jersy, and Gaelin´s roommate Ani from SDS. I loved our group. Katie got put in with all the girls but I was with mark and zach and other random guys haha. But it was totally fine, the rooms were nice with pretty white french looking doors, and our room had a bathroom inside. We ate breakfast at the hostel with the whole group then started to site see. We walked from our hostel all around, lisbon is all cobble stone roads and sidewalks and the streets are really small and narrow. The building are gorgerous, with so many different colors. It was very different than barcelona or any other big city. They have little trolly things that run on tracks through the streets which is the cutest thing ever. We walked down to the water and there is a famous square and arch de triumpth looking thing. It started to rain a little, but it was not that bad or that cold. We were in the area called Baixa Chiado, which is the main square and shopping area. From there we walked to the Cathedral and to the famous castel of St. Jeorge. Along the way stoped at a viewspot that over looked the whole city and the Atlantic ocean. The castel was really cool, like a real medieval castel used to protect the city. There were canons and areas for the archers to stand. It also overlooked the whole city, which is mostly red roofed houses and the colorful buildings. The sun came out and it was beautiful out and the sky was a gorgeous blue. After the castel we ate lunch at a cute restaurant one of of the small side streets. I odered "tenderloin" which i thought was going to be steak, because they are known for good steak and good sea food-- but it turned out to be pretty much thin raw meat. Everyone else ordered pork which was the meat of the day. After that we walked back to the main shopping area and went to a famous coffee shop. I got a hot chocolate and we got the famous portugese pastry called Pastei de Nata or Pastrei de Belem. It was AMAZING! There were so many pastry and bread shops everywhere. Then the boys went back to the hostel and the girls went shopping around there. It was really fun and cute shops on the cute streets. We got bread and pastries from a shop and the bread was warm and so good. We had dinner at the hostel, which was clams and some meat, and i tried it but i just dont like seafood that much, but then there was a good dessert. The hostel was full of crazy australians and irish people, which was so fun and hilarious because at 6 oclock the hostel turned into a huge party and everyone was drinking. There was a guy Mitch, who we had met when we got there in the morning who had not gone to bed yet. He bought alcohol for the whole hostel and was making everyone drink. These irish people were supposed to have left that day but were too drunk and were not allowed on the flight. We met really nice people there, some Americans and then people from all over. Everyone was very friendly and liked meeting new people. We also met this group of girls from Barca who were sooo nice! We went out to main bar area called Barrio Alto, which is a street, up a hill, that is all small bars. Open containers are legal in Lisbon so everyone was out on the street drinking. We went into some bars and one had a live band and one played really good music. I was so tired and hungry so me Julie and Katie went home a little early and tried to find food but there wasnt any. I slept so well because we had such a long day. The next day we slept in a little, but then walked along the water to the town called Belem. It was an hour walk, but it was beautiful. They have a bridge there that was built by the same architects as the Golden Gate Bridge. And there is a statue of a lady with her arms open that supposedly faces the one that is in Brazil! The water was beautiful and it was a nice walk. We then arrived at the famous statue of discovery, because portugal is known for all the explorers. It faces the ocean and is a really interesting shape. We were then in Belem, which has a famous monistary. We went in and it was beautiful on the inside and out. After that we went to the famous pastry shop called Pastrei de Belem, with the famous pastry called that too, which was like the one we had the day before. We went to park and all ate our pastries and relaxed in the sun. Then we went to the famous Coach Museam which is a hall filled with carriages and coaches that were used in the 18th and 19th century to carry the wealthy people and royalty around. We also walked by the president of Portugals house, which was bright pink, and had guards in front. We walked further to another famous monument that wsa an old coast guard used to defend from pirates. It was beautiful.We went home and napped then went out to dinner at a place near our hostel. It was really cute and filled with all locals. Luckily most people spoke english, and it was perferred for us to speak english than to speak spanish. I ended up eating a macaroni dish with shrimp and white fish and it was sooo good! After we went back to the hostel and drank with everyone again and went to a couple bars but came back early again and hung out more. There are cool clubs there but we didnt go because they do not like americans and try to charge them a cover of 200 euros. The next day we woke up at 8am (deathhhh) to go on a tour given by our hostel that was of towns a little outside the city. Saw a cool beach town, and peple surfing, and then went to this famous palace. It was beautiful, and there were great views of the city. Our tour guide was the cutest little portugese guy who told us everything about the city and what we were seeing. We got us pastries in the morning, and I had a stomach ache all day from all the sugar. We had sanwhiches with ham and wine for lunch. then the berkeley girls left for the airport but Katie and I didnt leave untill later that night, so we napped, then walked arounf baixa again. I got a scarf that I love, and then we went to the museam of fashion and design! It was interesting, there were some cool gowns and also random furnature and photos. It was such a great weekend. There was even more to do, its impossible to see everything in 3 days, but we did a lot. I want to go back in the summer and go to the beaches.