Life On The Flipside

Goodbye Blog: the end of an era

2009-08-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

The clock is ticking. My return is imminent, as is the end of my blog. I am a believer in anticlimactic endings, as is evident.

This is a blog dedicated to goodbyes.

Goodbye Spain.(You will be remembered for your off-putting cuisine.)

Goodbye public transportation.

Goodbye weekend getaways to foreign countries.

Goodbye European cars.

Goodbye Gothic markets outside churches.

Goodbye me having people take pictures of me.

Goodbye Ethiopian food in Amsterdam.

And stealing the bread in order to not offend the cook.

Goodbye....

Italy, Take 3

2009-07-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

I am back in Barcelona after spending 9 days in what will go down as one of my greatest European adventures to date. I risked procuring heatstroke in order to visit James one last time before my anticipated return to real life in California. My friends Natasha, Matt, and Brian decided to jump on the bandwagon and found themselves in Bologna where we frolicked just like old times in Santa Cruz.

James is soon to be gone with the wind(aka, living (il)legally in Lisbon).

Among other things, I ate some pasta.

Natasha arrived after 20 hours on a plane only to be accosted by a drunk, sleep deprived crazy man who claimed to have walked without sleep for 4 days straight.

Animal Collective/TV on the Radio happened to be playing in the courtyard of a castle. Natasha and Nicolo.

We went on a trip to a local Italian water hole.

James opened a bottle of wine on a tree.

We then feasted on wine, grapes and cheese and in our nonchalant, jovial mood decided to embark on a 2 day road trip through the Tuscan countryside. Yes, those are Marc Jacob sunglasses that James is wearing...(found on bus). We concluded that they brought out the douchiness in James, and took a photo of him and Natasha to send to the critically aclaimed "Hot Chicks with Douchebags" website.

The owner of our ride, Matilde.

We found ourselves in Siena and our spirits were dampened after finding that Burt would not be playing during our stay.

On the coast.

We stopped at an osteria in a secluded Tuscan village.

Where we dined on wild boar among other things.

Then Natasha and I had a romantic getaway to Venice where we enjoyed champagne in the main plaza.
Biennale Art festival.

The best site in town.

Nicolo then invited all 5 Americans to stay at his parent's house in the lake district of Italy where we were fed copious amounts of food and wine.

We played on some rocks.

I showed off my rockclimbing skills.

Voldemort reborn a Catholic.

The downside of traveling with 6 boys is you have to constantly deal with scenes such as this.

Abondoned hippy village in the hills.

It all ended at an amazing villa where we partook in an italian bro fest.

California in t minus 13 days...

Shout out Louds - Impossible

2009-07-20T15:26:00.001-07:00

Greece(y) hair

2009-07-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

About 8 days ago, my sister Cheyne arrived to spend a short vacation with me during which we spent a week in Greece. To keep with the theme of Greece/Grease, I decided to try out this new thing called not washing my hair for a week and let the Mediterranean act as a natural shampoo/conditioner. The results were as follows.

We first spent a few days in Barcelona in which we partook in all the typical tourist trap ceremonies.

I informed Cheyne prior to her arrival that it would not be neccesary to bring anything warm, and upon her arrival, the weather took a turn for the worse and decided to downpour for her first two days in the city.

Metro ride pt. 1

Trying to get back to nature at my favorite metro station in Barcelona.

A day at Sitges. First Speedo shot of my blog but definitely not the last.

I was a perfect fit for our room in Mykonos.
View from our room.
I always thought I was too tall/white/awkward to pull off a tank top. But I decided to go for it anyways.
I got lost in the maze of Mykonos, but at least I looked good while doing it.

There were copious amounts of adorable disease ridden cats on the island of Mykonos, and this one hiding in the wall takes the cake.
On our first day, we went to Paradise beach, which was breathtaking. Then the following day, we opted for Super Paradise beach which proved to be as original as it was true.

Lounging under the canopy, hiding from the sun.

Of course what would my blog be without a number of culinary delights.

Greek salad, and my personal favorite, spinach pies.

Mixed plate of Greek goodies including fried cheese.

Eggplant dip and Rocket salad.

We then went for a romantic getaway in Santorini, where we were constantly mistaken for a couple.

Francos in Faro.

Complete with Champagne.

We decided to play the part for awhile. (Hair, after 7 day Mediterranean treatment)

Our last sunset in Greece complete with a romantic dinner with my sugar mama.

Next up, Italy.

Berliner Blog

2009-07-01T13:45:00.001-07:00

Forget Paris, I'm moving to Berlin.

Highlights:

Sonya and I making great partners in crime when it comes to eating out way through Berlin.

Gooey fried honey balls

Organic curry-wurst and fries

Cupcake shop

Bratwurst and fur. sustainable use of animals??

Flea market/adjacent park

Pikachu

I want to live with a llama outside my window

Retry

Sonya

Drinking wine on the U-bahn... legally

Overpriced dessert from famous chocolate restaraunt

Bikes and vines

This stairwell

Lowlights:

This "guy"

Berliner dome

As is evident, the highlights of Berlin greatly outweigh the lowlights.

Local Berlin band. the band name sums up my life in 3 words

Whitest Boy Alive

A weekend with Charline or How I got fat

2009-06-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

On Thursday afternoon at about 10:32 am, I met my French friend Charline at the airport and escorted her back to my house for a weekend of sightseeing and overeating.

We walked down Las Ramblas and saw a number of "street performers," including this guy who is trying to fit in, but is obviously a dull-witted white person who ran out of money while backpacking through Europe and is trying to raise some funds in order to continue his "European adventure."

Charline was homesick so we skyped with Jen for a while and were impressed by the special effects on her camera.

3 tassles, 2 shoes.

Instead of taking pictures of myself, I did the next best thing, have someone else take pictures of me.

Ray-Ban ad+1.

Park Güell

We visited all the popular tourist destinations and made sure to make fun of the dumb Americans taking too many pictures/making fools of themselves while we did the same.

Montjuïc via the ski lift.

Char.

I prefer the view of the industrial port to that of the city.

Arc de Triomf(Parisian rip-off)

Char and I go to the movies.

One of my roommates(Judith), she's German.

We indulged in a number a culinary creations. (not to mention the number of baguettes we ate do to Charline being French, and baguettes being irresistible.)

We started off with something light/healthy.

Then I made some Chicken Tikka Masala with Basmati rice that turned out to be quite good.

Some mango, yogurt, and granola mixture that looks less appetising than it was.

Then Charline wanted to make cookies, so we made a batch of about 53.

I proceed to eat the cookie dough

Then my stomach hurt

Then I ate about half of the finished cookies, which resulted in more stomach aches.

And then Charline went back to Granada, and I was left wallowing in my 10 pounds of recently accrued excess fat.

Fête, Chez Moi

2009-06-15T04:37:00.000-07:00

In order to foster Spanish/American ties, I decided to hold a soirée at my new place. Of course these events don't always go as planned, and let it be said that mine was no exception. The night progressed in a steady fashion, only to climax upon the rising of the sun. The beginning of the end is where this tale comes to an end.

Photos courtesy of attendee Albert.

Punch and cookies were served.

Tension???

Now I must prepare for a number of friends and family who will grace me with their presence over the next month or so.

Bisous

Tant Pis Pour Toi!

2009-06-10T03:53:00.000-07:00

Modeling Career????

2009-06-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

As some of you must already know, I'm pursuing a "career" in modeling in Barcelona this summer. I'm not one to consider modeling a career, but if it means I can make enough money to stay here and pursue more interesting career options, then I'm all for it.

Here are some semi professional photos my friend Shay(Merci beaucoup mon chère) took for me a couple weeks back in Granada. Comments/critiques??

Barcelona, Take 1

2009-06-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

I left Granada in a rush and miss it as much as I miss Ojai(ambiguity??)

We had a bougie dinner and got dressed up for the occasion. It was "nice" to say goodbye to all of my fellow UC students... Miss you already Jenny/Aarony

Goodbye kisses and hugs were performed en masse.

I plan to spend anywhere from 3 months to an indefinite amount of time in Barcelona. With no school to keep me "busy," I have amassed a number of things to do to keep me busy. They include but are not limited to the following: reading, painting, gym ratting, cooking, social networking, traveling, skyping, hosting, and "working."

My new closet

Summer reading

I can now sleep confortabily on my big bed without having to assume the fetus position.

Updates in the near future on my social life/lack of.

Barcelona

2009-05-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

I'm moving to Barcelona on Thursday. I need only pack, write an essay, clean, and celebrate my going away in a number of festivities.

Madrid in the Spring time

2009-05-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

I went to Madrid again and saw the city by daylight this time. Madrid's alright, but the food sucks and the people try too hard to be hip.

We rented a boat in Retiro and did some rowing.

Boating action

I'm going to Barcelona this weekend to find a place to live for the summer and am hoping to find a place with AC so I can sleep at night. School sucks except for my Spanish class and I miss grocery stores from California.

The Pains of Being True at Heart

Spring is slow to come on the flipside

2009-05-10T04:43:00.000-07:00

I just bought a plane ticket: BCN to LAX, August 31. It happens that my visa expires the day before I leave and I'll have the opportunity to live the life of an illegal immigrant for a day.

I watched Grease the other day and realized it's the only musical that I like/ am not completely annoyed by. Here's a reminder to all of you who have let too much time pass since the last time you saw the masterpiece of musical cinematography.

Earlier this week, I made a Mexican mini feast for mis queridos amigos de UCSC. Jen in a mid bight action shot.

Other than that, I'm moving to Barcelona in about a month, and reading books not pertaining to class material in lieu of applying myself to more academically productive endeavors.

Paris avec ma mère

2009-04-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

To finish off my 2 week extended spring break with my mom, I under packed my bag(in anticipation of buying more things that I didn't need) and embarked on a trip to Paris. We arrived and proceeded to enjoy 4 days of fine dining, flea market shopping, sightseeing, French speaking, and metro taking.

Here is some flea market devoid of tourists and full of golden vintage finds. Hipster paradise??

It rained a lot and I wore this hat instead of an umbrella.

We went to the Galeries Lafayette and took pictures from the roof while perusing expensive clothing that we will one day buy with our fortunes to come.

Amazing desert from Le Petit Prince. Some chocolate mousse cake with some jelly/jam and ice cream for me and strawberry rhubarb pie with sorbet for mom/me.

We found a cute overpriced organic cafe and chose to have a lighter lunch in lieu of rich french food/bread.

We went to some grafitti exhibit at the Grand Palais.

Here are some of my favorite pieces.

It decided to get sunny on our last day in town so we soaked up the rays(aka hid under trees to protect our fair skin from certain third degree burn).

We hung out on the lawn in front of the eiffel tower after taking a ride on the tourist boat

and ate baguette with brie and grapes.

Then my mom left for Greece and I missed my flight back home due to Metro related problems and was forced to buy 2 new tickets and stay a night in Barcelona...

One word to describe Paris. Incroyable.

PS: I know my hair is out of control/a greesy mess/a mullet in the making. A cut is on my list of things to do.

The beach and white people

2009-04-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

After being in Spain for about 8 months, I decided it was time to take a trip to the beach. Mom drove while I navigated, and I managed to survive the experience unscathed... physically, not mentally.

Our rental.

Being the Aryan prince/day walker that I am, I lathered myself in the strongest sunscreen available in this country of bronze gods/goddesses and still managed to burn my oh so fair skin.

I ate some fresh grilled fish on the beach.

Then we went to the only hotel in town and got a room with a view.

I then went exploring for equally lost souls in our hotel and found that no one under 70 was to be found. Even with a little added color to my complexion, it is still recommended to wear eye protection when staring directly at me.

All the old people made me anxious, so I drank some Manhattans.

The end.

KKKristians

2009-04-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

Semana Santa just ended . Some images seen daily in the street processions include the following. There is a major difference in the processions seen here and the ones seen in the racist south in that the people under the hoods speak Spanish instead of the more common english.

Doesn't it just make you want to convert???

To escape the throngs of over-the-top brainwashed Catholics, I flew to the more educated/liberal/interesting city of Barcelona and met my mom there. We saw the sights, ate some food, and came back to Granada.

We then rented a car and drove up into the mountains.

I ate this dead lamb.

Then we came home and had a Barcelona recap by watching Vicky Christina Barcelona. Cliché???

Spring Splog

2009-03-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the first day of Spring, the youth of Granada go down to a designated area of the city for a massive botellón(consumption of alcohol in public including but not limited to: debauchery, degenerency and indescent acts of belligerency). The Spanish use any excuse to come together for a "special event" to drink copious amounts of alcohol and leave their trash where they please while simultaneously using their tax money to pay for the city cleaners to clean up after them. Having nothing else to do on such a fine day, my friends and I flocked to the botellón and "immersed" ourselves in true Spanish culture.

We got there at around 4 and it was sunny and warm.

And then this dog came and hung out, we fed it ice.

Next thing we knew it was dark and we were stuck in the middle of the crowd protecting the skate park from certain destruction.

Aaron x 2.

Some more Californians decided to show up.

The rest of the night was a blur and I found myself in a state of recovery for the 2 days following the event.

I thought about moving to Paris next year and foregoing my "educational experience" at UCSC, but as it usually does, logic crushed my dreams and I decided it would be more reasonable to finish up at Santa Cruz and then move to Paris after I'm done there. In order to have something to look forward to, I decided I'm gonna move to Barcelona for a couple months this summer and work on my social networking skills. Comments/suggestions/opinions/reactions????

Me in Barcelona??

Last night, I went to Jen's apartment for Mojitos and company followed by a number of bars, alleys, and clubs.

Dos españoles y un guiri.

Una española y un guiri.

We stopped at this alley and hung out for a while.

Then the time decided to change/ it got later while getting early/ I slept for a while/ I wrote an essay/ made some plans/ wondered if anyone is actually gonna read this blog.

Blogogna

2009-03-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

Spring finally decided to show itself, and not a second too late for my trip #2 to Bologna.

To take full advantage of the sunlight, we dragged our(my) snow white bodies to the sunny hills of Bologna to drink fine wine and play with a dog named soup on this Italian hippy girl's ranch.

To get there we had to take a half hour bus ride on a windy 1.5 lane road with a crazy Italian driver. We managed to survive the trip and I took a photo as evidence.

Then we got picked up in the hippy girl's vintage jeep and drove up to her ranch. James' forced smile is not without reason seeing as some unkown part of the jeep was ramming him up the anus.

The other person you see pictured in the photos in James' English friend Steven, who happenned to be visiting him on the same weekend I chose to. We had a jolly good time criticizing each other's English. What is an aubergine anyways?(answer at botton)

James is the same as I left him, except he is now taking a marble sculpting class and is so international he could be the star of L'auberge Espagnol 3. Here is a portrait of James in Bologna.

James and Zuppa/Soup.
Check out those hot legs

and me

again

Good italian beer??

Timer... great results every time.

Then we went to this park full of annyoing hippies and euro trash scumbags.

We were of the few who did not fall into one of the two preceding categories.

and this guy.

Then I came home to even warmer weather in Granada and the urge to continue my life on the flipside in Paris next year. To be continued...
(aubergine=eggplant)

Goodbye Madrid Goodbye Ben

2009-02-24T14:19:00.000-08:00

I went to Madrid yet again last weekend in an attempt to forget about reality. We went to fashion week in Madrid where we were able to sneak our way into a number of shows and VIP lounges.

Outside the event.

Shay with her magical press pass.
Free Cocktails. The VIP lounge was only open for about 40 minutes after each show, but all the cocktails were free, so we'd drink as many as we could in the short window of time. The best I did was about 7 cocktails in 30 minutes.

VIP seating??

Everyone there thought they were such hot shit(me included).
Then I rushed back to Granada to say farewell to my dear friend Ben. Here he is on his last night in Spain, flushed red from all the wine.

More food?? This is called Migas, which is a bomb Spanish dish that I will one day make you.

And now I have more classes to attend, more food to eat, more traveling to do, and more blogging to blog.

-ANC

Metronomy - Heartbreaker

2009-02-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

Madrid by night

2009-02-14T16:41:00.000-08:00

My lack of recent blog entries could/could not be attributed to the following: Drugs, Alcohol, Sleep, Sickness, Madrid, Exams, and/or lack of inspiration. You choose.

I finished my last exam no more than 38 hours ago, and after proceeded to make my way to the local post office in order to pick up a package sent to me by my mother. The contents are pictured below. I guess she was not thinking about international custom laws when sending me fresh fruit from her trees. Other than the fruit, the contents included run-of-the-mill hippie granola products that are the norm when it comes to my mom.

Last weekend, I decided to forgo spending the weekend studying in order to take a trip to Madrid with my Spanish friend Robert. We stayed at our Canadian friend's(Shay) apartment, which is more reminiscent of a cave. She has a dog named Milu, which could more accurately classified as a rat.

Our first night out, we went out to a restaurant with a group of Spanish people I didn't know. It was awkward...

Robert checking out Shay's aching tooth in order to save a trip to the dentist.

Here is some Sushi joint in the city called Pink Sushiman or something along those lines. it was buy one get one free, and the sushi was sub-par, but I was still elated considering I had not had real sushi since being in Europe.

Then we made some Brownies, which turned out to be "special."

After consuming the majority of the brownies, we decided to go for a walk in order to work off our massive carb intake. We ended up hanging out with this green guy.

And next thing we knew, we were eating in a Chinese restaurant. Our server was named Chou Mein, Robert had an anxiety attack, and Javi didn't know what to do with himself.

I would have liked to go to a museum or some sort of tourist attraction while in Madrid, but by the time we left the apartment every "morning," the sun had already set and I ended up seeing Madrid only by night. But my Spanish friends assured me that Madrid is much more interesting by night than by day.

Out on the town. Left to right: Robert, Javi, Javi's friend, yours truly, Yoan, and Phillip.

Robert and I trying to not kill ourselves listening to the slew of horrible Spanish hits.

Then I came back to Granada and "studied"... or something like it. Graffiti??

Last Wednesday night, in the company of my Santa Cruz friends, I went to a dinner "party" at the apartment of the director of my program. I decided to dress up for the occasion. Here Jen and I are embracing feminism by groping each other in a purely platonic manner.

Jen, Ben, and Aaron x 2.Californians in Spain.

I go by Nate or Nathaniel around my Spanish friends, cause they seem to be much more impressed by my middle name than they are by my first name.

XOXO

-Nate

Dying/Crying/Blogging

2009-01-27T06:19:00.000-08:00

Sunday, upon waking from a night of adventure and fun I came to the realization that I was deathly ill. Some would have had me convinced that I just had a hangover, but I knew that was not the case. I was convinced I had one of the following: Meningitis, Dengue Fever, The Bubonic Plague, or a combination of all three. I tried to ride it out with a barrage of natural medicine and such, but upon waking Monday morning at 7 AM, I knew something was off. I called a taxi and made a break for the nearest hospital. After a short wait, I saw a physician/nurse/something of the sort, and she notified me that I would need to get blood drawn and she said some other stuff in Spanish which I did not comprehend in my delirious state of fever/plague. Being in such a state, I completely forgot to bring my camera and photograph the whole ordeal which turned out to be the worst part of the whole experience, I guess I'll just have to plan on making another trip back to urgent care sometime soon.

Then this lady decided to take some blood, and I remebered that I'm deahtly afraid of needles, (it probably looked something like this, but my arm is not so ugly)

and while she was taking blood I told her I was dizzy, and next thing I know I woke up in a hospital bed after fainting with an IV in my Arm (again something like this, but not so feminine)

Then they threw me in a wheelchair and put some more fluid on the IV, and made me wait with a bunch of dying people in a room for my blood test results.(This was me, but I wasn't looking quite as fresh as this man.)

And finally after what seemed like an eternity, this nice doctor did some more quick tests, said a lot of things in Spanish, and told me I had an abscess or inflammation in my throat, which was making swallowing very painful, and told me I just needed to take a bunch of pills and drink fluids and rest. Then I left without having to pay a dime, and staggered home while picking up the meds on the way for a total of about 25 euro. Here is an acutal pic of all my meds, serious stuff indeed.

Then my roommate Irene decided to be my mom for the duration of my sickness and won't let me leave the confines of my bed. She makes me lemon and honey tea, chicken soup, Spanish hummus, fresh squeezed juices, and whatever I else I so demand.

Here are my roommates just in case anyone was wondering. Irene on the left who is my care taker, and her sister Arantza on the right, pictured in San Francisco.

I still think I had a a combination of Dengue/Meninigitus/Bubonic plague, but the good news is I'm still dying, but not at the rate I thought I was 2 days ago.

In other depressing news, my dog Sumi passed away 2 days ago at the ripe ago of 13, making it officially the worst day of my life in a long time. I cried to my friends/my mom/and my roommates. RIP Sumi.

Now that my life hit rock bottom, it can only get better, so I guess I have a lot to look forward to. XOXO

Blogging and "Studying"

2009-01-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

My life has been so monotonous and routine lately that I assumed that it would only bore you. But then I thought, what is boring to me could be exhilarating to another.

Yesterday(Monday): I went to the library to "study" for 17 minutes and checked out a book, saw some friends and somehow got talked into drinking a bottle of Spanish fampagne(fake champagne) at 5:30 pm, proceeded to drink a couple greyhounds, and then being drunk at about 6:47 pm on a monday afternoon, we decided to just keep going. I looked something like this before the sunset.

Last Friday I had a dinner party at my place, but I was so busy being the chef/host that I forgot to take pictures of the event.

I made

Butternet Squash Gnocchi
Cauliflower Soup

and Zucchini Bread

Today I watched Obama's Inaugguration speech instead of going to class.

And then I went outside and got stared at for dressing like this because Spanish people only wear clothes that are black, gray, brown in the winter.

Soon after taking to the streets: it started hailing, I got cold and did jumping jacks(I'm still learning).

Then I got lost and found this alley(in my dreams).

Blogging for the new year

2009-01-06T12:15:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since my last blog entry that I cannot be sure if I still have a fan base/if I ever had a fan base. But I'll recount my recent travels for anyone lucky enough to happen upon my blog while surfing the world wide web.

It was about the 20th of December at 12:03 pm when we(Aaron(yes, there were two of us), Jen, Natasha, Sonya, and I) boarded a bus from Granada headed towards Sevilla/e. we arrived 2 hours and 36 minutes later and proceeded to check into our hostel. It happened that all 5 of us were from California, and more that we were all UCSC students. We ended up spending 6 days in Sevilla during which we spent most of the time in our hostel as everything was closed on Christmas eve, Christmas, and the day after Christmas.

Here I'm pictured with the two non Spanish speakers of the group, Natasha and Sonya.

Trying to keep ourselves entertained by playing Columbus discovers America right in the very city where he set off some 500 odd years ago.

Before the jump(literally).

Jumping(again literally).

Trying to fit in by drinking fine wine with tapas on the balcony of our hostel.

White men can jump.

Some dining we enjoyed at one of the only "vegetarian" restaurants in Sevilla. Seafood and Chicken are not considered animals by the standards of many Spanish, and as a result "vegetarian" dished often include one or the other.

Stewed chicken with rice.

Potatoes with some mystery sauce.

Spinach and Garbanzo beans.

Seeing as 3 out of 5 of us were Jewish, we decided to have a secret Santa in order to passively spread christian values and beliefs upon our fellow travelers.

Then, Natasha had to fly home and Aaron had to go to Lisboa/n to meet his parents. Jen, Sonya, and I, in a fit a unrationalized taveler deportment decided to rent a car and make our way from Sevilla to Lisboa and then back to Granada. Jen and I didn't know how to drive stick, so it was left to Sonya to drive and me to conduct. Looking to be as economic as possible, we opted for the cheapest model.

Psyche!! I wish that was our car. here's the real deal. Fiat Panda.

From Sevilla, we drove to Tavirna, Portugal where we stayed for a night in a deserted 4 star hotel run by a slew of Russians for about 15 Euro each.

The castle ruins were about the only thing to see in the so called "Venice" of Portugal.

Then we drove through Faro and saw this wall.

After which we stayed for two nights in the deserted town of Évora.

Me, on the set of Harry Potter.

Old man taking a nap at the local hot spot cafe.

On the 29th, on our way to Lisboa, we stopped at the stone henge of Portugal.

This is the Album cover for the debut release of our band, Portuguese Panda.

Instead of hugging trees as we normally do back in Santa Cruz, we decided to hug a giant phallic rock.

Making our way into Lisboa, we drove across the Portuguese Golden Gate bridge.

Castle ruins in the city center overlooking the bay/city.

Some Pictures of Lisboa.

Botanical Gardens of Lisboa.
We met back up with Aaron in Lisboa after he tired of his parents, and spent our New Years there. On NYE: we drank free beer at our hostel, followed by a bottle of cheap wine, ate way too much food at an all you can eat Sushi restaurant while being stared at by the entire Japanese staff, watched the fire work show, walked along a highway for an hour, tried to go to a club until we were told the cover fee was 36 Euro each, watched some drunken fools try to sing along to Bob Marley songs, and didn't make any New Year's resolutions.

The menu of a restaurant in Sintra where their only cooking appliance was a microwave.

El Palacio de Pena or The Palace of Sorrow in Sintra.

It was raining/cold/wet/windy.

And then this hapenned

But I still managed to get some photos for my blog.

The end...

Music for The Holidays

2008-12-21T06:49:00.000-08:00

In case you're looking for some new hits/long lost classics, these tunes are sure to spice up your holidays.

The Teenagers

Los Prisioneros

Noah and The Whale

The Dø

The Cardigans

Lauryn Hill

Bridging The Gap: Mexico/Spain

2008-12-20T05:03:00.000-08:00

As time dragged on in Spain at a sufficiently accelerated pace, I was strangely reminiscent of California, but it was not until Wednesday night that I realized what it was that always brought my thoughts back: Mexican food.

Jen/Natasha, in a stroke of unparalleled genius decided to put on a Mexican themed dinner party.

Action shot in the kitchen.

Smoking inside, how Spanish.

The table is set.

Jen/Natasha, the architects of the dinner, complete with fargaritas(fake margaritas).

Charline et moi.

Me, creeping on Charline.

Post dinner, feeling bloated like one normally does after a feast of Mexican cuisine, we decided to slim down, the French way; with crepes and a chocolate tart.

Bringing Mexico back to Spain proved to be an infinitely greater success than bringing Spain to Mexico ever was.

"Chistmas" break, the good and the bad

2008-12-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I had the fortuity of hosting Ms. Pippa Baker-Rabe while she was on vacation in Spain. It is plausible that we slept more than anything, but that is besides the point.

Here we are pictured in the only Mosque in Granada paying homage to Allah.

Pippa happened to come during the coldest weekend we've had thus far, but the green tinge of life of the normally barren landscape of Granada made up for it.

Some moss with a building on it.

On Sunday night, some friends and I went out for a night of fine dining to celebrate my 21st.

Pre-dinner photo.

En route to the restaurant, it was snowing, and our driver Diego had to find his way there looking out of this windshield. The tacky blue light fixture hanging above the road is one of hundreds put up all over Granada to "usher in the Christmas spirit" and make any non-Christians feel excluded.

The restaurant's name was D'Cuadros, which is a failed attempt at fusing the Spanish and French languages.

Pippa was unintentionally excluded from our dinner conversations seeing as how we spoke almost exclusively in Spanish.

Enjoying some drinks at the bar while waiting for our table to be prepared.

Awkward "prom photo", my feable attempt at trying to make up for not going.

Some dishes from which we dined.

A mix of fried "Asian" dumplings and skewers.

Caesar Salad
Proof of the copious amount of snow that fell on the above mentioned night.

Bloggin Fever

2008-12-11T05:09:00.000-08:00

I find it hard to leave the confines of my heated room/warm bed to venture out into the cold and bleak unknown. Today the sun is shining bright, and yet it is a meager 45 degrees outside. On a normal day, it is a death wish to step foot outside without wearing so many layers of clothing that you end up looking like a morbidly obese 3rd grader.

I'm currently binge eating a pack of jelly beans that arrived in the mail from California not 30 minutes ago.
The current state of my room could be described as semi-disorderly, but at least it is not bleak like the inside of my Arte Prehispanico notebook.
My roommates facebook crept me to get a picture to make this birthday card. They put my face on a disco ball cause they tell me I'm "el chico de las fiestas."

Blogging from Africa

2008-12-10T03:07:00.000-08:00

Recently events in my life include: anti-climatic 21st birthday, 4 day trip to Morocco, and (not) going to class.

Words I would use to describe my first trip to an arab country: colorful, sexist, Muslim, inequality, and wet.

The people who I went with pictured from left to right: Jen(California), Diego(Spain), Charline(France), and me (California). I know you must be thinking about how international I've become, and on top of that we spoke solely in Spanish the whole trip.

To get there, we drove Diego's ride(Pictured) to Algeciras in Spain, and then took an hour long ferry ride to Tangers, Morocco.

We spent a night in Tangers(an ugly port city) where Moroccans constantly tried to sell us any of the following: money, hash, rugs, tea, and food.

Then we took a taxi to Alciras(a small beach town) and stayed at some random Moroccan guys house that was right on the water. here's a picture from the balcony.

and then his wife cooked us Couscous for dinner.
After being in Morocco for 2 days, I realized that every surface was wet from the humidity including: the floor, the walls, the bathrooms, the beds, the windows, and anything else that was left out.

Graffiti in Alciras. While in Morocco I walked, ate, slept, and blogged in my poofy down jacket.

The next day, we took a bus back to Tangers, and then another bus to Chaouen(a small mountain town) which was supposed to be a three hour bus ride, but ended up being about 6 hours. But alas we arrived and got a room in a hostel/hotel which I would describe as semi-janky. But I guess that was to be expected at a price of about 5 dollars a night. Here's a view from the hotel balcony.

My feet pictured with stairs in our hostel.

Here are some women cleaning their clothes at the local river.

What is out of place in this picture?

Shot of a typical street in Chaouen lined with shops and such.

Door shown to scale.

More stuff to sell to the unsuspecting tourist.

While shopping, I used my bargaining skills that I honed a year ago in southeast Asia. I got this rug for about 40 dollars, but It's so nice I feel bad stepping on it and am trying to decide whether I should hang it as a tapestry or just use it as a rug. Suggestions?

Roof top bar on our last night in Morocco. Enjoying the view while sipping on tea.

Group of Moroccan men colluding in a scheme to rip off the tourists.

We drank lots of tea, which is a mix of fresh mints leaves and a lot of sugar unless you specify otherwise.

Couscous was a staple in my Moroccan dining experience.

Enjoying the view minus me.
Moroccan woman sharpening a sharp instrument.

Us, obstructing the view of Chaouen.

Dulces Arabes or Arab sweets, I probably ate about 20 of these in a matter of 3 days.

The end... of my time in Morocco.

In other news, I turned 21 yesterday. It turned out to be not so very different from a typical day of my life in Spain. Some highlights: Pippa and Emilee made me a birthday music video, my roommates gave me a cake, my friend Jen bought me a Doner Kebab, and my other friend Ben bought me a beer. Other than that I watched the latest episode of Gossip Girl, went to one of my 4 classes, drank a greyhound, ate a spanish tortilla, talked to various people from home via Skype, and listened to the Carpenters, Belle and Sebastian, Burt Bacharach, and David Bowie. If you were wondering how I look at age 21 or what I wore on my birthday here is a brief synopsis.

Two Days in Paris

2008-11-18T02:43:00.000-08:00

Recently, I've been overcome with a desire to forgo school in lieu of traveling. But, being the good student that I am, I try to find the balance in between.

Last weekend, my friend and I went to Paris for a total of 2 days. Our flight left early Friday morning in a neighboring city, so we ended up spending the night before sleeping in the airport.
Here is a creation we made during our overnight stay at the airport.

Arriving in Paris half-awake, we proceeded to see the sights including the following: The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, The Pompidou center, Montmartre, Sacré Couer, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysées, and some others.

A night at the Louvre.

Notre Dame
Here are some crafty people putting on their own exhibit at the Modern Art Museum, the French were not amused, and the artists ended up being kicked out after they put on a g-rated porn show.

It wouldn't be Paris without a slew of accordionists.
Some band in Montmartre
Some stuff I dined on during my time in Paris

Croissants and pains au chocolat.
Nutella and banana crèpe.
Quiche de trois fromages.
Organic prepackaged salad

After being in Paris for all of 48 hours, I decided it lives up to it's name, and that I want to live there sometime in the near future. How many of you will visit me?

Here are some things I've cooked lately.

Butternut Squash soup.
Pear chocolate tart.
I'm officially a legal alien of Spain.
Next on my list of places to travel. Morocco? Portugal? Berlin? Amsterdam? Stockholm? Copenhagen? all of the above? recommendations?

Blogging and Baking

2008-11-06T10:17:00.000-08:00

In the last week the weather has taken a turn for the worse, and as a result I've resorted to sleeping, baking, cooking, and watching movies to get me through the day.

After visiting 3 stores looking for baking soda/baking powder, I came to the realization that the Spanish are not known for their baking and furthermore, do not cater to those who wish to experiment in the art. But alas, I was not to be bested, and found a small can of baking powder.

After my scaveneger hunt for baking goods, I made a batch of cookies, a frangelico tart, and some banana bread, in no particular order. Due to the exceptional taste and presentation of these items, I was only able to photograph a half eaten loaf of banana bread before they were devoured.

In order to further my immersion of the Spanish culture, I made my first Spanish tortilla, which got the green light from both of my Spanish roommates.
Some people have been asking for pictures of my house/condo/apartment, so in order to appease them here are some not so well shot photos.

Here is my "house" from the outside, it is 3 stories tall, with an empty private underground garage. By definition it is a condo, but to the Spanish it is considered a house.

This is the living/dining room which is located on the ground level.

This is where the magic happens.
My room, currently devoid of anything but paint on the walls. I've been going to "flee markets" looking for things to hang, but the Spanish idea of a flea market is a place with Wal-mart quality clothing and fruit, so for now my walls must sulk in their undeserved solitude.

My bathroom. The shower is small and water always seems to escape through the sides and wet my bathroom floor. Our house has a bathroom in every one of the 4 rooms, and a communal one on the ground floor, so between the 3 of us, we have 5 bathrooms.
and no Spanish bathroom is without a bidet
To my delight, the sun decided to shine on Granada for the first time in over a week, so I took a stroll and snapped this shot of the snow capped mountains.

El Fin

Still Alive and Blogging

2008-10-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

Life has been hectic and all, you know dealing with the economic crisis and watching Sarah Palin embarrass herself on live television, but alas I have made it back to the computer to do what I love most, talk about myself.

Last weekend I decided to pack my bags and have a reunion with my one true love, Barcelona

I, being an expert on the city, was by default the tour guide, and made sure we saw the sights and lived the life in the city that sometime sleeps.

Here I am trying to play the part of American tourist at Park Güell
Art with a practical use, Gaudí was such a genius
From left to right, three Canadians, a French man, and 4 Californians
The French man and I got in many a dispute over who was the tour guide of the group

We were jumping with joy after seeing the magic fountain show in Montjuïc
Then, the next day we continued our tour of Gaudí's works
Casa Milà

The Sagrada Familía was closed by the time we got there, but who really wants to pay 10$ to go into an unfinished church?Then on our final night, we wandered to Barceloneta beach and were astounded to find that there was a full moon.

And in our final hours in Barcelona we saw "Vicky Christina Barcelona," which left us leaving Barcelona with a feeling of admiration and fulfillment.

Back to Blogging

2008-09-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

It has been a little while since my last blog for I have been traveling in Italy. Highlights include food/biking, Lowlights include Ryanair/tourists in Florence.

My first night in Bologna I went to an electronic music festival in a castle, then the next day I rode a bike around and then ate lots of food.

castle/music festival

me with bike next to an old canal/sewer

Bologna has more porticoes than any other city in the world, so practical

Bruschetta

Mushrooms, prosciutto and Brie

Then while James was at school, I climbed a mountain and a tower and then ate some chocolate

James going to school, Nicolo going to study

The top of the mountain
Tower in the center of town
Shady stairs of death
Top of the towerme with chocolate, I couldn't stop eating it and then I got a stomach ache but didn't regret it

Next I checked out some graffiti

Then I decided to go to Florence, cause every American in Italy goes there.

I felt oddly at home in Florence, but then I realized it was only because there were more Americans there than Italians

Detail shot of a painting in the Uffizi, I didn't know heaven was full of fat babies who have yet to be potty trained

As I wandered the streets of Florence, I ran into an old friend

We got some old couple from Ventura to take this picture

Cat with lots of dandruff

End

Splogging yet again

2008-09-14T03:27:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday, and nothing is open in the city except a couple of restaurants. I still feel like I'm on vacation even thought I have "responsibilities." About half of my clothes reek of cigarettes, cause everyone smokes everywhere, but Granada makes up for that by being one of the only cities left in Spain that serves free tapas with drinks.

I realized yesterday that my new apartment has 5 bathrooms, and only 3 of us live there. The avocados are good here, and the produce sub par. It's too hot during the day, and it's hard to do anything besides siesta.

Here is me at la casa de Bernarda Alba written by Gabriel García Lorca. Lorca is Granada's claim to fame.
YoSoy soy milk
Me at some big cathedral
cathedral

Some huge pipe organ in the cathedral, I think that this church should actually be put to some use by having Arcade Fire perform live here.
el fin

Blogging or something like it

2008-09-09T06:38:00.000-07:00

Not much new going on here, I've been taking a siesta a day, and wishing that it would get cold already. I do apologize for my occasional catachrestic word usage, sometimes my attempts to spice things up fail terribly.

Here's a music video in case you need something new to listen to
Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream

Graffiti in and around Granada

If Michael Jackson and Pamela Anderson had a kid it would look something like this

I like the colors, but am not overly impressed with the image
Nice use of preexisting conditions
Evil leprechaun/elf spawn
My favorite so far

Splog 3

2008-09-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

Splog number 3, direct from Granada
Life is a speedy sloth of endemic proportions in the city of late nights and not so many lights.
Classes are boring, but semi-interesting, and I feel like I'm in Freshman year all over again living in dorms with a bunch of equally lost souls. I found a piso that I'm moving into on the 20th with 2 Spanish sisters ages 28 and 30. I've been walking and eating a lot, and plan on going to the beach tomorrow before the volatile heat of summer is gone and the gelid cold of winter is on.

photographic supplements include a trip to the Alhambra palace and various affairs along the way

Me in a circle, Catholic influenced architecture is so boring...

The striking details of the Muslim architecture mark the grandeur of the once illustrious empireYet another shot... of me
Detail shot
Courtyard

Watch out for the wild pack of gypsy cats, all they want is your love and money
Shot from the towering edifice of the castle
a shot of some fellow Slugs and I

End

Trekking and food... in Spain!

2008-08-31T09:56:00.000-07:00

The staples of the Spanish diet include...

The Baguette

Spanish Ham/JamónAnd my personal favorite... The Spanish Tortilla
Where's all the vegetables and fruit you might ask? If you're lucky you might be able to find some fried with olive oil, or should I say olive oil fried with vegetables?

Trip to Monachil and the Sierra Nevada National Park (not forest)

some fools and I posing for a picture
Some benevolent graffiti in the park

The landscape here is reminiscent of Arizona, although I've never been there

Indiana Jones bridge?
Watch out for the massive congregation of Americans

Blogging from Spain

2008-08-29T04:39:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a blog for all of you who care if I'm still alive or not. For all of those who were wondering if I survived to Spanair crash in Madrid, I did, for I was not on it.

So I made it to Granada about a week ago and have been acclimating to the hot weather, the time change, the rat tails, and the Spanish food that cannot go without being fried in olive oil.

Granada is pretty legit, here's my first photo outing of my trip
I'm at a university residence right now and for the next three weeks staying with all 55 of the UC EAP students, here's a picture of us walking together in a manner that screams "We are American tourists, please steal our money"

The city
Que Pintoresco!

Trying to be indie with B&Wa Mosque

Here is me being a tourist with some Gypsies with the Alhambra in the Background
Here is me with some randoms, the blond girl second to the left is my future Spanish roommate, her name is Arantza

Trying to relive the childhood that I never had

Spanish boy with no one to play with... but himself
End of blog number one, feel free to leave comments and constructive criticism