Okay, so it's been a while, but we're safe and everything thing's cool.
So we left Barcelona in a hurry, doing some last minute souvenier shopping on La Rambla. I had in hand my second 'I Heart Barcelona' shirt (the first being lost last night during some drunken dancing) and it was also my only clean shirt (even the one i was wearing was dirty).
We got to the station, Barcelona Sants, just fine and while we waited for the platform the girls did a bit of food shopping.
If you aren't involved in the disaster that is Neha's EuRail pass, let me fill you in quickly. Neha forgot her rail pass at the hostel in Madrid. We've contacted them to try to have them mail it to us (charging the $75 to her credit card). So Neha doesn't have her pass that let's her get onto the train with her discounted ticket. Luckily, there is a gaggle of 5 girls walking through and a long line of people waiting to board so she snuck by without having to show the color copy that she printed from a scan of her pass. I usually bring up the rear and in Spain I was able to just say, "Estoy con ellas," or 'I'm with them' and with a handful of tickets that they don't have time to count they wave me by.
We get onto our train headed to Montpilier around 4pm and got there are 9:30pm with lots of stops along the way. I was hesitant to sleep because I got stuck in the row in front of the girls where the seats are facing each other and I had two strange french girls staring at me from behind their sunglasses for the whole trip. Eventually Marianne joined me to finish the last 10 minutes of 'Catch Me If You Can' and watch the first half of 'Battle Los Angeles' on my computer.
In Montpellier we had to buy Neha tickets because in Spain they couldn't sell us tickets that didn't leave from Spain. Once we found enough change to get a ticket (yes the ticket machine wouldn't take bills) we rushed out to a McDonald's that was across the street from the train station where we lamented at the lack of low prices, free refills, unlimted napkins and other luxuries of the states. We ate it in the train station on our platform. A french woman carrying a McDonald's bag walked past us saying, 'Bon appeit!'
We finished our meal on the way to Marseilles were we sat in the wrong cabin, but no one ever questioned if we even had tickets so we just remained there the whole trip. We were too noisy for one man who got up and moved to the other end of the car.
In Marseilles we waited from 11:50pm to 5am for our next train. When we arrived we tried to find someone to help us make sure that it was in fact free for us to get onto the train with out EuRail passes and that we didn't need other tickets or reservations. No such luck and the ticket office didn't open 'til 5am which was the same time we were supposed to be boarding our train, but at this point I was in need of shower and ready to just settle in for the night. We found a power outlet and began charging out devices, but around 1am we were asked to move to a special area for of similarly trapped travellers and the usual homeless. I thought I fit in quite nicely with my previousy worn sleevless shirt, my rather thick beard and my gross oily faux hawk.
The night was mostly uneventful: one man who tried to enter the transtation (which was closed (like the bathrooms)) ignored the cries of security guards prompting one of them to unmuzzle is large dog and sprint off with the dog barking away. We couldn't see or understand what was going on so we tried to get back to sleep, though Marianne and Mei got no sleep while we were there. After teaching Shivani and Andrea 'casino', a two player card game, I had fallen asleep to be woken by a smelly guy who came and laid down with his bag as pillow saying 'he wanted nothing to do with us' but I sat up and gave a rather intense scare and gestured for him to move away without saying anything. He resigned and moved after a minute. At 4am the trainstation opened again and we wandered around for a bit while waiting to see what platform with should be at. We were still a bit nervous about not having tickets or seat assignments for the train, but we were too sleepy to worry about it.
On the train most of us slept for the majority 4 hour train ride. We had an 8 seat cabin to ourselves so we dimmed the lights and stretched out a bit. When we were asked for our tickets the man told us we needed to write the date onto our eurail passes (we are only allowed to travel for 5 days over the course of two months) and he said he would come back to check and make sure we did... he didn't.
We we arrived in Lyon we again went to make sure we didn't need tickets for the free rided to Geneva and sat around with some tea/coffee/pastries until they announced our platform. At this point we're sitting in a train station during rush hour, no one having showered in over 24 hours and no one had more than 4 hours of sleep. On the train to Geneva Neha and I finished a 3 hour french movie (how appropriate :P) we started flying from Atlanta to Amsterdam and the short train ride ended with the relief of seeing our new best friend Nico waiting for us at the train station. ... someone else can talk about Geneva. I'll just say it was still another 8 hours 'til we had all gotten a shower.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Barcelona!
- Trying to find our hostel, we walked the wrong direction on La Rambla...twice. We called the hostel girl at least 3 or 4 times and eventually she gave up and came and got us.
- Barcelona hostel #1 was awesome! Super cute, and the lady/host was very helpful.
- After checking in, we headed to the beach! (Where else?) Like everywhere else we've been, it was gorgeous.
- I (Andrea) still had a huge hole in my foot, however (from dancing barefoot in the street in Madrid), which the beach sand was not helping. As luck would have it, there was a big Red Cross truck right on the beach! Jake gave me a piggyback ride to them, and they did a great job bandaging my foot, with a few mutters of disapproval.
- While I stayed on the beach to watch our stuff and worked on my tan, everyone else jumped into the water and played like little kids in the waves. Marianne ended up giving a constant "up yours" to everyone, though, since she had cut off the tip of her middle finger in Barcelona and was trying to keep it out of the water.
- After that, we got lost on the way back to the hostel but eventually made it.
- Back at the hostel, we took FOREVER to shower and get ready, as all 5 girls each had to clean up and wash their hair in the ONE SHOWER. Jake took a nap.
- Next, we headed to Port Olympico to party! In our search for some dinner, we ran into a pretty mean kebab guy, who refused to put our kebab meat on a plate instead of a tortilla. Eventually we had some fast food at Pans & Co.
- On to the clubs! We strolled up and down the boardwalk, in search of free drinks (which we received :) On the way, Marianne was grabbed and put on a stretcher, and wheeled into a hospital-themed club, where a eurotrash bartender in a nurse/doctor outfit proceeded to dance with her on the bar. He even tried to get her to take a shot from his crotch. (Needless to say, we left pretty quickly after that).
- A good buzz of alcohol running through our systems, we headed to the one Salsa club in the area to dance! The music was good, but the "dance" scene is definitely not like the US -- guys don't really ask girls to dance. So poor Jake (or lucky Jake?) had to do his manly duty and dance with all of us.
- Overall, the night was a success!
- Day 2 in Barcelona got off to a late start as we had to run around switching to a new hostel. This was like the Walmart of hostels -- it was definitely huge and maximized efficiency. There were tons of people there, but our room was fairly nice and we were comfortable enough. The downside -- we had to pay to use the internet.
- Eventually, we headed off to take a cable car up to the Castle Montjuic. The view was fabulous, but Jake kept shaking the cable car.
- The castle was gorgeous. The smell of the castle was not.\
- Next up, we headed to the Olympic Stadium (of the Barcelona Olympics '92), where we took our traditional jumping picture!
- Next stop was Park Guell, of the famous Gaudi-esque tiled mosaics and swirly architecture. We had fun running around and taking lots of pictures.
- In the mood for some more Gaudi, we headed to La Sagrada Familia, a gorgeous and very unusual church. Unfortunately, the line was super long to get in, so we decided to wait until the next day to see the inside. Nonetheless, we sat outside for a while just staring up at it.
- At this point, some of us were pretty tired. We headed to the metro and took it to some more buildings designed by Gaudi -- Casa Mila and Casa Batllo. We proceeded to walk down La Rambla and look at some more of the cool architecture and the protestors in Plaza Catalunya.
- Next, we headed to dinner. When you're in Spain, you eat tapas, and these were the best tapas yet. Jake had......a hot dog. Yeah. Seriously.
- We also had some delicious Sangria de Cava (Champagne Sangria) and regular Sangria. Yum!
- In the mood for a pretty chill night, we headed down to the bars in the Baroque Quarter, instead of the clubs. We were determined to get Jake drunk, since he has the highest tolerance of the group. Mission accomplished!
- On the way back to the hostel, we ran into a random concert in the street with some Ska Band. Yay for drunk dancing in the super crowded plaza :)
- We headed back to the hostel for....more drinks! The hostel bartender drank with us and we had an impromptu dance party in the hostel lounge, where they had a random disco ball (?) Some Indian guys hung around and watched us, which was a little strange but, let's face it, we weren't terribly concerned at this point.
- Next day, we decided to hit up La Sagrada Familia first thing in the morning (except for Neha, who stayed behind). In a word -- GORGEOUS. We were all super impressed. It definitely has to be seen to be believed, but for the next best thing, check out the Jake's pictures on facebook.
- Then, we decided to walk around La Rambla and shop before our train. We had a good time haggling (except for Jake, who had to pay full price to repurchase the shirt he had lost the night before). Neha got us both a "sexy discount" and an "indian discount." All of the souvenir shops were run by Indians and they were very taken with her!
- Finally, we headed to the train station. Check out Jake's next post for info on that!
Some random notes:
- Tourist cliches that we perfected:
Walking around with HUGE maps looking confused.
The "jumping picture" at every major landmark.
Buying and using the fancy Spanish fans.
Mei with her super Asian touristy hat.
- Silly us -- we have managed to leave water bottles EVERYWHERE. Water fountains are a rarity in Spain, and water is not usually free in restaurants, so we decided to carry water bottles. Unfortunately, we managed to lose them all over the place :(
- Shivani slept her way through Europe. Seriously, that girl is amazing. She has this miraculous ability to sleep anywhere, anytime. If we were motionless for more than 30 seconds, she was OUT. The metro, the train station, the cafes, everywhere! We are all a little jealous.
I'll leave it at that. Viva Barcelona!
-Andrea
- Barcelona hostel #1 was awesome! Super cute, and the lady/host was very helpful.
- After checking in, we headed to the beach! (Where else?) Like everywhere else we've been, it was gorgeous.
- I (Andrea) still had a huge hole in my foot, however (from dancing barefoot in the street in Madrid), which the beach sand was not helping. As luck would have it, there was a big Red Cross truck right on the beach! Jake gave me a piggyback ride to them, and they did a great job bandaging my foot, with a few mutters of disapproval.
- While I stayed on the beach to watch our stuff and worked on my tan, everyone else jumped into the water and played like little kids in the waves. Marianne ended up giving a constant "up yours" to everyone, though, since she had cut off the tip of her middle finger in Barcelona and was trying to keep it out of the water.
- After that, we got lost on the way back to the hostel but eventually made it.
- Back at the hostel, we took FOREVER to shower and get ready, as all 5 girls each had to clean up and wash their hair in the ONE SHOWER. Jake took a nap.
- Next, we headed to Port Olympico to party! In our search for some dinner, we ran into a pretty mean kebab guy, who refused to put our kebab meat on a plate instead of a tortilla. Eventually we had some fast food at Pans & Co.
- On to the clubs! We strolled up and down the boardwalk, in search of free drinks (which we received :) On the way, Marianne was grabbed and put on a stretcher, and wheeled into a hospital-themed club, where a eurotrash bartender in a nurse/doctor outfit proceeded to dance with her on the bar. He even tried to get her to take a shot from his crotch. (Needless to say, we left pretty quickly after that).
- A good buzz of alcohol running through our systems, we headed to the one Salsa club in the area to dance! The music was good, but the "dance" scene is definitely not like the US -- guys don't really ask girls to dance. So poor Jake (or lucky Jake?) had to do his manly duty and dance with all of us.
- Overall, the night was a success!
- Day 2 in Barcelona got off to a late start as we had to run around switching to a new hostel. This was like the Walmart of hostels -- it was definitely huge and maximized efficiency. There were tons of people there, but our room was fairly nice and we were comfortable enough. The downside -- we had to pay to use the internet.
- Eventually, we headed off to take a cable car up to the Castle Montjuic. The view was fabulous, but Jake kept shaking the cable car.
- The castle was gorgeous. The smell of the castle was not.\
- Next up, we headed to the Olympic Stadium (of the Barcelona Olympics '92), where we took our traditional jumping picture!
- Next stop was Park Guell, of the famous Gaudi-esque tiled mosaics and swirly architecture. We had fun running around and taking lots of pictures.
- In the mood for some more Gaudi, we headed to La Sagrada Familia, a gorgeous and very unusual church. Unfortunately, the line was super long to get in, so we decided to wait until the next day to see the inside. Nonetheless, we sat outside for a while just staring up at it.
- At this point, some of us were pretty tired. We headed to the metro and took it to some more buildings designed by Gaudi -- Casa Mila and Casa Batllo. We proceeded to walk down La Rambla and look at some more of the cool architecture and the protestors in Plaza Catalunya.
- Next, we headed to dinner. When you're in Spain, you eat tapas, and these were the best tapas yet. Jake had......a hot dog. Yeah. Seriously.
- We also had some delicious Sangria de Cava (Champagne Sangria) and regular Sangria. Yum!
- In the mood for a pretty chill night, we headed down to the bars in the Baroque Quarter, instead of the clubs. We were determined to get Jake drunk, since he has the highest tolerance of the group. Mission accomplished!
- On the way back to the hostel, we ran into a random concert in the street with some Ska Band. Yay for drunk dancing in the super crowded plaza :)
- We headed back to the hostel for....more drinks! The hostel bartender drank with us and we had an impromptu dance party in the hostel lounge, where they had a random disco ball (?) Some Indian guys hung around and watched us, which was a little strange but, let's face it, we weren't terribly concerned at this point.
- Next day, we decided to hit up La Sagrada Familia first thing in the morning (except for Neha, who stayed behind). In a word -- GORGEOUS. We were all super impressed. It definitely has to be seen to be believed, but for the next best thing, check out the Jake's pictures on facebook.
- Then, we decided to walk around La Rambla and shop before our train. We had a good time haggling (except for Jake, who had to pay full price to repurchase the shirt he had lost the night before). Neha got us both a "sexy discount" and an "indian discount." All of the souvenir shops were run by Indians and they were very taken with her!
- Finally, we headed to the train station. Check out Jake's next post for info on that!
Some random notes:
- Tourist cliches that we perfected:
Walking around with HUGE maps looking confused.
The "jumping picture" at every major landmark.
Buying and using the fancy Spanish fans.
Mei with her super Asian touristy hat.
- Silly us -- we have managed to leave water bottles EVERYWHERE. Water fountains are a rarity in Spain, and water is not usually free in restaurants, so we decided to carry water bottles. Unfortunately, we managed to lose them all over the place :(
- Shivani slept her way through Europe. Seriously, that girl is amazing. She has this miraculous ability to sleep anywhere, anytime. If we were motionless for more than 30 seconds, she was OUT. The metro, the train station, the cafes, everywhere! We are all a little jealous.
I'll leave it at that. Viva Barcelona!
-Andrea
Thursday, June 23, 2011
salsa dancing attempt
So apparently we like to take naps. Really, we take siestas to a whole new level.
Today, we took a nap at 9:30pm to about 11:15pm, and we thought it'd be too late to salsa dance like we had planned. Marianne and Shivani woke up and decided to get out of bed and salsa, which really is no easy feat. I decided to go too so as to get some dancing practice. We go down to the Sol area where all the clubs are. Happy days!
Immediately we are met with a bunch of people in the streets, offering us free drinks so as to get us into the bars. First, we went to a place called Cardamomo, which supposedly is the best salsa dancing place in the area, according to an online review. We went in, and were offered free drinks, which we took for the most part, but we realized that the dance floor was empty, literally empty. It wasn't even playing salsa music. After a while, we realize that there's an entrance at the back to another area for dancing. It was the salsa dancing floor! They were playing the right music, there was a small bar, there were tables on the sides and the lighting was just right. But alas, there was no one on the dance floor. A couple spanish-looking men were seated at a table far across from us, and there were a couple of spanish-looking ladies seating at a table next to us but that was it. The spanish-looking ladies rolled their eyes and shrugged their shoulders, gesturing that they share our frustration. We sat around a bit more while Jake texted us the location of the other Salsa club we wanted to hit. Coverage by "Happy" was not very good however, and we did not receive the text until we got back late that night.
We leave the place and call Jake, and finally were able to find our way to the other club, El Son. On the way there, one of those guys came up to us and offered us a free drink at his salsa club. We looked at his flyer and there it is! He works for El Son. So we follow him to the club but he tells us that we have to pay 6 euros to get in. BOO!! (although it looked like people were filing in anyway and they were playing the right music). So we decided to leave, and the El Son guy heckles us again, this time we don't respond, and he calls us LOSERS. In English. I should've called him a perdedor (or so Google Translate tells me) right back, I shall react quicker next time now that this word is in my spanish vocab.
Shivani and I were hungry, so we stop at a Mexican place to get stuff to go. That's right! We came all the way to Spain and ate Mexican food. There's comfort in familiarity I guess :) Oh and we found a 1.5L bottle of Fanta and were absolutely ecstatic. We paid 3 euros for that bottle and took it back to the hostel. Kinda shows you our value system (refuse to pay 6 euros for salsa dancing but pay 3 euros for bottle of Fanta). I guess it's my value system since I was the one who decided to buy it. Damn you Jake, it's all your fault for making Fanta look so delicious!
Anyway, we're all back in the hostel, safe and sound. Another good day. Buenas noches.
Spanish word of the day: resaca (hangover)
Last Day in Madrid
Today was a day full of unexpected impediments but adventures nonetheless. After a late start, Marianne accidentally fried her hair straightener, which led to a trip to El Corte Ingles because most of the local shoppes were closed due to the religious holiday Corpus Chrisiti. After lunch at a Tapas bar, we headed to the Chamartin rail station, where I could not buy most of my rail tickets. Throughout the day, we were priviledged enough to witness Shivani's incredible ability to sleep any and everywhere. After lunch we headed to El Museo Reina Sofia and saw Picasso's Guernica. We then attempted to get tickets to opening night of Swan Lake, only to find that it was sold out. We then decided to visit the Royal Palace, only to find that it was closed once again due to the religious holiday. On the walk back to our hostels, however, we did run into a random dj playing for the streets of Madrid. The best part was the tiny 80+ year old man who did variations on the robot to the music. Jake, Shivani, Andrea, and Marianne danced for the crowds in proper ballroom fashion. Tomorrow we are off to Barcelona, with more adventures to come.
--Neha
--Neha
Something more juicy
1) Shivani acquired a new beau. A swedish beau.
2) Neha got hit on by two Swedish guys who wanted sex
3) We took flaming shots that were literally flaming when we took them. Our throats burned but they were good :)
4) we found out that if you smile enough at the bartender you can get free drinks in exchange for a kiss on the cheeks
5) The Palacio Real is showered with bullet holes from the Spanish civil war ...(don't worry, the holes were covered)
6) Madrid's official icon is a bear eating fermented fruit out of a tree. The ppl here are obsessed with this mascot
7) the shortest street in madrid is called Calle de Madrid
8) You do not want to be around when someone yells ' agua va! '
9) You can still see blood on the walls of Plaza Mayor
10) The table umbrellas in the Plaza Mayor restaurants kept being blown away ... And seem to target tourists
11) This creepy guy kept following us. He was making a weird monkey noise out of a wooden device
12) There was a fat guy in a spiderman costume and an american Mickey mouse ....
13) The catedral de la almudena and the teatro real were subpar on the outside because they were too close to the royal palace... You don't want to anger the king by outshining the royal palace
14) The influence of the Moors can be seen by the bricks on the otherwise european stone cathedrals and buildings around Madrid.
15) ppl are rushing me to finish up so we can go eat lunch so bye
2) Neha got hit on by two Swedish guys who wanted sex
3) We took flaming shots that were literally flaming when we took them. Our throats burned but they were good :)
4) we found out that if you smile enough at the bartender you can get free drinks in exchange for a kiss on the cheeks
5) The Palacio Real is showered with bullet holes from the Spanish civil war ...(don't worry, the holes were covered)
6) Madrid's official icon is a bear eating fermented fruit out of a tree. The ppl here are obsessed with this mascot
7) the shortest street in madrid is called Calle de Madrid
8) You do not want to be around when someone yells ' agua va! '
9) You can still see blood on the walls of Plaza Mayor
10) The table umbrellas in the Plaza Mayor restaurants kept being blown away ... And seem to target tourists
11) This creepy guy kept following us. He was making a weird monkey noise out of a wooden device
12) There was a fat guy in a spiderman costume and an american Mickey mouse ....
13) The catedral de la almudena and the teatro real were subpar on the outside because they were too close to the royal palace... You don't want to anger the king by outshining the royal palace
14) The influence of the Moors can be seen by the bricks on the otherwise european stone cathedrals and buildings around Madrid.
15) ppl are rushing me to finish up so we can go eat lunch so bye
Picture Update & MORE
Atlanta
Amsterdam (and other airport shenanigans)
Dublin (airport only)
Madrid
After 72 hours of travelling (for Neha, Marianne, Shivani and I), we slept. Our first night in Madrid we had some 'Doner Kebap' and wandered around the city for a few minutes before crashing.
We had a early morning (5:30 for me) and after doing a bit of grocery shopping we decided to take the free walking tour that was advertised by the hostel in which we're staying and it turned out great. We saw the royal palace, various monuments and heard quite a bit of history. Then... we slept.
And that made us miss the Flamenco show we had wanted to see, but it worked out okay. We went to the pub crawl that the hostel advertised (run by the same people who gave us the tour) and for 10 euros we got a free drink in 3 different bars (the girls managed to get more free drinks) and free admission into a night club.
The night was fun, but mostly uneventful. I managed to wrangle all the girls back to their proper hostels and this morning (in fact while composing this entry) I managed to get us a third night in the same room rather than having to switch to two separate rooms.
Hopefully somone can update this later today, and you all should 'follow' this blog that you can get updates via e-mail.
-Jake
Amsterdam (and other airport shenanigans)
Dublin (airport only)
Madrid
After 72 hours of travelling (for Neha, Marianne, Shivani and I), we slept. Our first night in Madrid we had some 'Doner Kebap' and wandered around the city for a few minutes before crashing.
We had a early morning (5:30 for me) and after doing a bit of grocery shopping we decided to take the free walking tour that was advertised by the hostel in which we're staying and it turned out great. We saw the royal palace, various monuments and heard quite a bit of history. Then... we slept.
And that made us miss the Flamenco show we had wanted to see, but it worked out okay. We went to the pub crawl that the hostel advertised (run by the same people who gave us the tour) and for 10 euros we got a free drink in 3 different bars (the girls managed to get more free drinks) and free admission into a night club.
The night was fun, but mostly uneventful. I managed to wrangle all the girls back to their proper hostels and this morning (in fact while composing this entry) I managed to get us a third night in the same room rather than having to switch to two separate rooms.
Hopefully somone can update this later today, and you all should 'follow' this blog that you can get updates via e-mail.
-Jake
Monday, June 20, 2011
What she said.
I'm having quite a good time. After splurging on the first (and only) round of drinks for the night, I'm feeling rather content in my bed.
I will say that I'm truly grateful to have confirmed flights to get to Dublin and happy to have such fun trip-buddies!
Here's to a equally eventful remainder of the trip!
-Jake ~~~~(^_^)~~~~
p.s. Look forward to more elaborate posts exploring the full capablitites html :P
I will say that I'm truly grateful to have confirmed flights to get to Dublin and happy to have such fun trip-buddies!
Here's to a equally eventful remainder of the trip!
-Jake ~~~~(^_^)~~~~
p.s. Look forward to more elaborate posts exploring the full capablitites html :P
What Shivani failed to mention...
Despite all the trouble and craziness we've been through... We did make $700 by giving up our seats to the poor souls who needed to get back to Dublin....
Well, our adventure is off on a good start ... With just lots of wtfs
Well, our adventure is off on a good start ... With just lots of wtfs
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Day One: Adventures in the Airport
It's 1:37 AM Eastern. We should be somewhere over the Pond, sound (?) asleep, on the way to Dublin. In fact, Mei and Andrea should be landing in Dublin in a couple hours. According to the itinerary.
But Neha, Jake, Marianne, and I are actually in Atlanta, hanging out in a hotel, looking forward to our trip to Amsterdam the following afternoon. No, we didn't ditch our other two friends for a chance at Amsterdam's crazy adventures. This is the result of misfortunes, odd opportunities, and a lot of poor engineering.
It started with me (Shivani) leaving my passport behind. I promise, I was being perfectly responsible, making copies of important documents at the library the day before our flight. Naturally, I left the passport in the copy machine, overnight. If Jake and my dad hadn't reminded us to check for our passports before going to the airport, this would be a whole different story, but luckily, after hours of yelling on the phone and anxiously calling the library, my passport was found. Yes, already feeling irresponsible.
DFW airport, flight 1910 to Atlanta. Two hours on board, no air conditioning. Sitting next to us, Hot Dad (according to Jake, who one day aspires to be him) told us exactly how to make the airline give us our money's worth, down to the exact FAA regulation number, if we missed our connecting flight to Dublin. Just before Marianne went crazy from the heat, we were finally fixed and off to Atlanta.
Gate E10. Yeah we made it! Only, we're such caring travelers, we gave up our seats to the 20 or so travelers who were praying to finally make it out of the Atlanta airport and onto the ridiculously overbooked flight. So, with vouchers and promises of a confirmed flight the following afternoon, we left the gate.
Qdoba Mexican Restaurant. Apparently the only place willing to sell food after 10pm in an airport. Even McDonalds was closed. But clearly these guys weren't expecting hungry travelers after 10pm, because they ran out of vegetables and glared when we asked for more tomatoes in our burritoes.
Outside the airport, waiting for the hotel shuttle. This wouldn't be worth a paragraph, except somehow our luck is so trulyterrible unique that one of the measly two hotel shuttles broke down, forcing us to wait two hours just to get to the hotel.
Hotel elevator. Somehow the elevator refuses to go to our rooms at floor 4. We only discover this after a couple trips up and down.
**
No, we're nowhere near Dublin. But we figure we've already had enough adventures on this trip, enough stories that need sharing, that this creation was absolutely necessary.
So, welcome to this blog, Europe for the Lulzies, for those of us who just roll with the punches, ready for anything that might happen on this crazy BA Graduation Trip. We hope that things get more interesting when we finally, actually get to Europe. But we're ready for anything!
Sincerely,
Mei, Andrea, Jake, Neha, Marianne, and I (Shivani) <3
But Neha, Jake, Marianne, and I are actually in Atlanta, hanging out in a hotel, looking forward to our trip to Amsterdam the following afternoon. No, we didn't ditch our other two friends for a chance at Amsterdam's crazy adventures. This is the result of misfortunes, odd opportunities, and a lot of poor engineering.
It started with me (Shivani) leaving my passport behind. I promise, I was being perfectly responsible, making copies of important documents at the library the day before our flight. Naturally, I left the passport in the copy machine, overnight. If Jake and my dad hadn't reminded us to check for our passports before going to the airport, this would be a whole different story, but luckily, after hours of yelling on the phone and anxiously calling the library, my passport was found. Yes, already feeling irresponsible.
DFW airport, flight 1910 to Atlanta. Two hours on board, no air conditioning. Sitting next to us, Hot Dad (according to Jake, who one day aspires to be him) told us exactly how to make the airline give us our money's worth, down to the exact FAA regulation number, if we missed our connecting flight to Dublin. Just before Marianne went crazy from the heat, we were finally fixed and off to Atlanta.
Gate E10. Yeah we made it! Only, we're such caring travelers, we gave up our seats to the 20 or so travelers who were praying to finally make it out of the Atlanta airport and onto the ridiculously overbooked flight. So, with vouchers and promises of a confirmed flight the following afternoon, we left the gate.
Qdoba Mexican Restaurant. Apparently the only place willing to sell food after 10pm in an airport. Even McDonalds was closed. But clearly these guys weren't expecting hungry travelers after 10pm, because they ran out of vegetables and glared when we asked for more tomatoes in our burritoes.
Outside the airport, waiting for the hotel shuttle. This wouldn't be worth a paragraph, except somehow our luck is so truly
Hotel elevator. Somehow the elevator refuses to go to our rooms at floor 4. We only discover this after a couple trips up and down.
**
No, we're nowhere near Dublin. But we figure we've already had enough adventures on this trip, enough stories that need sharing, that this creation was absolutely necessary.
So, welcome to this blog, Europe for the Lulzies, for those of us who just roll with the punches, ready for anything that might happen on this crazy BA Graduation Trip. We hope that things get more interesting when we finally, actually get to Europe. But we're ready for anything!
Sincerely,
Mei, Andrea, Jake, Neha, Marianne, and I (Shivani) <3
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