Spain at last!!!

It is here. Finally, after three tries of going to Europe I have made it to Spain! As some of you may or may not know, Spanish was my first foreign language and as of yesterday the total time I have spend in a Spanish speaking country was one day (Mexico on a cruise). So today, I finally get the chance to flex my spanish speaking muscle except *poof* I don´t think I made any sense to the first person I talked to, heh. Oh well, a few Sangrias later I felt much more at ease and my spanish skills are starting to come back to me!

Anyway, last night was a blast, we went out to a few bars, and then at 1 am a bunch of people from the hostel went out for "mexican night". Ahhh good times, I ended up hanging out with some girls from Iowa, and a cool 38 year old guy from San Francisco as well as dancing with a cool Romanian girl all night, and even Aaron was dancing all night, ohhhh that Spanish beat - no one is safe! (Even though they just played South American or US music all night). We all came home around 5.30 this morning and it felt like we left EARLY! I even woke up at 8 am, ready to go see the city, but no one else was awake... Sorry no pictures yet, since I´m using the hostel´s free (oh yeah!) internet. This hostel is so far soooo much better than the last one in Dublin. Adios!

Here at last!

Well, Aaron and I have officially arrived in Dublin this morning at 8 am. It is 2 o' clock now and we have to take shots of coffee every hour to try and stay awake. Aer Lingus sucks, the seats were tiny and no free alcohol. Plus I had an aisle seat and as anyone would walk by they would inevitably hit me - which wasn't too pleasant. I only slept about an hour. I think we are moments away from giving into the tiredness and will fall asleep for a few hours at the hostel - destroying whatever hope we had of trying to acclimate to the time change.

Dublin is as expensive as I remember - so Aaron and I have been walking around the city and I am trying to play the part of the tour guide. Tomorrow shall be a day of seeing free museums, and doing an over-priced pub crawl, but oh well. I may be the only one, but I am super excited to get into a country where they don't speak English... Dublin still feels very much like its part of the USA. Out of time at this internet cafe. Later!

Speaking English for Food

Sadly, this will be my last post for a week. I know, how will you ever survive?

As many of you know, I got accepted into a unique Teaching English program in Spain. Basically, what they do is take us all via bus to some small historic town about 4 hours from Madrid, put us up in a decent or nice hotel room, give us free food. And all we have to do in return? Participate in games and activities to help Spanish businessmen learn english. Basically, all I have to do is speak english for a week. I know, taxing.

Here´s the link for any of you that are interested. http://www.vaughanvillage.com

So no posts for the next week. But don´t cry, Ryan and Aaron are joining portion one in a few days, and they´ll (hopefully) fill you in on their whereabouts and adventures! On the 28th the three of us meet up, and then the fun really begins.

Paella Valenciana

Posted By Nithin Coca

One piece of advice...don´t go to Valencia, or any part of Spain outside of Andalucia, on Easter Weekend.

Valencia seems like it would be cool. Its pretty, lots of bars, restaurants, famous paella places, not touristy at all, yet large. Beautiful beaches.

But on Easter weekend...everything, and I mean everything, is closed. Most of the bars, all stores, many restaurants. The few that are open have been booked in advance, as me and an Australian found out yesterday after being rejected at 10+ restaurants on a strip known for having the best paella in town. We thought everyone just hated us, but they were rejecting everyone, even Spaniards. All the restaurants were crowded and, strangely, understaffed, so they wouldn´t let anyone else eat even though many of them had some open seats.

Tomorrow I take the slow train to Madrid. I did get Paella, eventually, at a restaurant on the other side of the beach. Then had Spaniards stare at us cause we were the only ones eating food on that entire half of the beach. Ahh, traveling. Hasta Luego!

Barcelona Redux

Posted By Nithin Coca

It was almost 3 1/2 years ago that I first stepped foot into this small, not entirely Spanish corner of Spain, Barcelona. I remember the day vividly - our train arrived in the evening, and our hostel was far away from the city center in a shady neighborhood. The only eatery we could find, a Tapas bar, was run by a mean middle aged man who apparantly didn´t speak English, French, or Spanish, claiming he only knew Cátalan. Oooo, see how I made the á! Yay for español keyboards!

The next day was possibly the most hectic day of my life. We got up at 9AM, saw all the famous sites of Barcelona, ate 3 meals, then went out till 5AM. We had no place booked that night, so at 5AM we tried sleeping on the beach, the metro, and a hostel (different one) sofa. Each place kicked us out. Then the day only got weirder.

So today, I was back in Barcelona, the first city on this trip around the world that I have visited before. And possibly the only, with the exception of Paris on Bastille Day, and Bangkok, the only re-visit of my journey around the world. Today was much more relaxed, since I´d seen more of the sights, I only tried to see everything in a new light. I spent a few hours at the Sagrada Familia, walked around the Barri Gothic, chilled on the Ramblas. Its 10:14PM right now, so ít´ll be a few more hours until the night life starts to pick up.

2 1/2 more months on the Iberian peninsula. Adios!

Belle Italia

Posted by Nithin Coca

Internet Access is hella expensive in Italy. Seriously. In Lucca, I paid 4 euros for 15 minutes of internet. So, even though this website means a lot to me, I wasn't about to pay an extra 4 euros to post an update.

But it has been one interesting and exciting week. I've gone from one side of Italia to the center of Slovenia, from Central Europe to Cinque Terre, Venice to the mountains. Through rain and shine, I've perisisted. And now, I'm back in Florence, reflecting on Italy and what it was.

But who cares about that? I know what you want...photos! And voila, here you are!







Crazy Italians and their graffiti, which, by the way, is EVERYWHERE.












Venice was like a romantic, picturesque Disneyland, full of tourists all with maps in hand, walking from ride to ride, overpriced restaurants and stands everywhere touting souvenirs. This was the "Gondola" ride, which cost $62 (too much for a budget traveler.








A few more days in Italy, and then, I'm off to Spain on the 12th, via night train, to Barcelona. Then officially begins portion one, as the next 2 months will be spend on the Iberian peninsula, with a dip or two into Morocco. Expect more updates and such! And, of course, everyone is free to email me at excinit{at}gmail.com.

Week One Update

From Venice, Italy

I'm writing this from a very overpriced internet cafe in Venice. The last few days have been, without a doubt, eventful, from eating the best mango gelato in Milan, to talking to a hyper Italian girl on a train who was going across the country to confront her boyfriend, who broke up with her via phone. The last two days have been in Venice, a beautiful but horrendously expensive and touristy city. Its more like a Disneyland than any place I've been in the U.S.

Longer update tomorrow, when I shall check in from Slovenia...or Croatia, not entirely sure yet. Ahh, unpredictability!