Lisboa, Portugal

Lisboa 3/25 – 3/27

3.25.2011

With ISA (the program I’m studying with), we left Lisboa on Friday at 8:00 am. Got there at around 3pm (it’s really only a 4 hour drive by car). Then we wined and dined… well, without the wine part. So we basically dined and dined because the food in Portugal is absolutely delicious and cheap. So is the coffee. It’s actually really similar to what I’m used to eating.

Later that day we did a tour of The Castle of St. Jorge. It was nice, short, and sweet. We actually got kicked out of there because we were standing on pillars… ya, not a very smart idea.

The night life in Lisboa is too much for me. We went out, and they had cover charges and everything… good music, but I guess I’m just not that intense.

3.26.2011 Saturday

I got decent sleep for once J… 5 hours

We did 2 tours at 10 am. One of the this lighthouse battle view, and the other of a cathedral... one of the more unique cathedrals I've seen yet. and by 2:30 pm we had the rest of the day to ourselves. So we went to the aquarium… which was quite amazing. It’s always so cool when you go to stuff like the zoo, sea world, or aquariums so you remember how it’s some of the smaller things that make you pause in ‘aw.’

Next we went to the mall, don’t remember the name, but supposively it’s the second biggest in Europe. It’s cool, but I’ve seen better in America. Not my top suggestion.

If you have time, go to the beach if the weather is nice. That’s really where I wanted to go, but the weather wasn’t having it.

note.. my camera died on me :(

That night I was out with some friends at a club called Urban Beach. It’s kind of funny how we got in. At first, we went as a big group of Americans, then they asked us how many, we said 7… then they said it was exclusive… as in they were lying. So I went a further back in the line were some of my other friends were. There were 3 Portuguese girls there and we asked them if they could say we were with them, in which they did and we got it. Oh ya, and Portuguese people are sooo nice too. It’s pretty awesome.

For once in my life I stayed out later than I ever would. I ended up going back to the hotel with my friends and we saw the sun rise from a tall window on the 11^th floor. Great way to end the trip.

3.27.2011 Sunday

With only 50 minutes of sleep… I woke up and got on the bus. The weird thing is that I wasn’t very exhausted either. I had enough energy to read, which is odd in itself. Eventually, I passed out in my seat, and eventually arrived back home.

Marbella, Espana

Marbella 3.18.2011 – 3.20.2011

the sunset of Marbella

Getting there Friday 3.18. 2011

I was headed for paradise Monday morning… something in which I had no idea was headed my way. Instead of taking a bus to Marbella, 3 other friends and I rented a car and drove there. If anyone wants to travel in a group of 4 or 5 in Spain… I highly recommend renting a car if someone in the group can drive stick. It was an adventure in itself just to drive through the curved mountains of Spain, stop at any monument that caught our eye, eat when wanted to, and just to have the good ol' fashioned road trip.

I went there with Maria, Robby, and Ryan. A great traveling group because everyone was so relaxed, and  up for anything. When we arrived in Marbella, we rolled up to our Mansion, and met up with our other 13 friends there.

the mansion

Our view... you can see the Mediterranean

A little about Marbella, it’s on the Costa del Sol, a bit outside of Malaga. It lies along the Mediterranean Sea, and it is more less where the rich/ famous people go. On Friday alone I saw two different Aston Martins, a Mazaradi, Ferrari, and Lamborghini… Definitely a glamorous place. Also, the beach is right off the mountains… Natural Beauty

So when there, we made our way to the beach. Relaxed, baked in the sun, saw time pass by, kicked some soccer balls, and volleyed some volleyball. I personally have fascinations of running along the beach, I don’t know why, but that’s my thing, I like to find a distance miles and miles in front and run to it. So I ran, and it took a lot longer than predicted. The cool thing was that I got to run while the sun set. When I headed back though, I couldn’t remember what beach I was in, or how far I was. After trying to figure it out for an hour, I finally got home. It’s always kind of fun, but a little scary, being lost in a place you are not familiar with. Nothing compares to the time I got lost in Mexico when visiting Phil though, so it was all good.

Friday night, there was a bunch of us in a house. Enough said… just pretty crazy.

our friend we met

Saturday 3.19.2011

I woke up and ran to the mountains along the beach. Best way to start the day.

Later I just literally chilled with my friends on the beach ALL day. I mean, alllll day. It seems quite uneventful and bland when written on a blog, but it just felt right is all I can say.

For dinner, I cooked some friends my favorite pasta dish… rutini with cheese- filled pasta, with three meats: beef, chicken, and sausage.. along with the onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, and of course, Garlic. That was a beasty meal.

every group had their own cook... this saved a lot of $$$$

The night got crazy once again… kind of felt like Reality TV

Sunday 3.20.2011

Just took a bus back early morning. Great trip in Marbella!

Me, Maria, Ryan, & Robby (team Hyundai)

All in all, I definitely recommend a trip to Costa del Sol... whether it be Malaga, Marbella, or so on. Just one more beautiful thing Andalucia has to offer

Cordoba, Granada, y un poco de Barca en Sevilla 3/11/ - 3/13

Cordoba y Granada

Cordoba – Friday, 3.11.2011

We went to Cordoba with ISA for about 5 hours to take tours and what not. It’s about a 2 hour drive from Sevilla, so not that far from Sevilla at all. The city of Cordoba is way different than Sevilla… everything just looked older.  We took tours at the Cathedral- Mosque, Synagogue, and Jewish Quarter. The cool thing about Cordoba is how the city is much smaller, and there is a lot of history everywhere you go. Not a crazy tourism place either, so you get more of that Traditional ‘Spaniard’ vibe. We left for Granada mid-day.

Over 1900 arches in the masque/ church!

Granada- Friday 3.11 2011

We got into Granada around 6 pm… and the city is just beautiful. Granada has everything an outdoorsy person needs. There are caves, mountains, great climate, and a bunch of parks everywhere. At this time of the year, you can go hiking and/ or skiing in the mountains. I wish I had more time here to do either of the two. Another plus about Granada is that it’s pretty clean and new-looking.

It just seemed a lot more modern and up to speed then Sevilla (not hating on Sevilla though). I love Sevilla and all, but I know if I had a pick between Granada and Sevilla, I would pick Granada.

Before I start talking about what I did, here’s a little history about the beautiful city of Granada… When Spain was ruled by the Arabs for the 5 centuries or so, Granada was the last city to be ruled by the Arabs. So in this city, there is still a huge Muslim/ Arabian influence in this city. You’ll find a lot of writing in Arabic throughout the city, there are crap ton of Kebab restaurants, and the people there seem a little darker than your typical Andalucian person. And of course, una Granada, the pomegranate, is very commonly sold throughout the city.

But moving on… we arrive at like 6pm into a nice 4 star hotel… Thank you ISA J We relax a little, enjoy some nice warm showers (which is in high demand here), and then we chow down. Comida en Granada es el mejor de Espana. No es mi preferencia, pero simplemente, es un facto del mundo… meaning food in Granada = J J J. Of course, we went to Kebab stands first thing, and the Kebabs here put Istanbul’s kebab to shame. We went to a place called Kebab King, and they give you a pita with Kebab and vegetables, rice, and a drink for only 5 euros… and you are full!!! One thing about food in Spain is that you usually have to spend 14+ euros on a meal to actually feel full… but not in Istanbul. They also have all the tapas bars to, where if you order any type of drink (maybe even bottled water), you get tapas free. Some of the tapas are huge too, so you essentially get free food for ordering a drink… freaking awesome!!!!

After food we went to a Flamenco bar… and it was the best flamenco I have seen is Spain yet.. Flamenco in Granada is better than Sevilla too, weird how that works, bc flamenco actually originated in Sevilla. But anyhow, this is where I found my future wife… haha. But in all seriousness, the performers were just soooo good here. There was also beautiful women who danced flamenco, which I don’t think I could of asked something better for. And at the very end, my favorite flamenco dancer pointed at me from the whole crowd and told me to dance with her. Talk about the icing on the cake J I sprung off my seat instantly… had no idea what to do, but I just followed her and hoped for the best. Best 20 seconds of the trip. Haha

The lady below is the one I danced with :)

Later on that night we went to a club that was a distance up ] the mountains called Cambodia. Cambodia is sick because it has a view of the whole city of Granada off a peak of the mountains and there are glass windows along the club, so you can see the whole city while dancing. Very nicely done. Only drawback is that there was 90% American music, which is a bit on my less- preferable side. After that, we had a 35 minute hike in the pouring rain back to our hotel… no umbrella, just cold and wet.

Saturday 3.12.2011

After only 1 hour & 23 minutes of sleeping… Saturday started.

Saturday, we went to Alhambra, the castle of Granada. This castle was constructed by the Arabs with so much artistic detail is was incredible. We did a 3 hour tour here and it a simply a must see. Pictures can’t describe anything. It was literally one of those places that every corner you turned and every new room you went into, there was more art, more detail, and more beauty than the prevailing one. Actualllly, when they constructed it, the architects’ goal was to make every inch of the castle with art & design…. And it definitely showed.

Later on that day, I had some Kebab, and just chilled on the bench with some friends and people- watched (which is really fun in Europe), and just chilled out for about 2 hours. I can honestly say I have never just chilled like that. Everyone that knows me knows I’m usually always doing something, but not this time. I literally watched time past by without feeling the need to take control of it … Nice feeling.

Later on that evening everyone left back for Sevilla, except a couple of us that wanted to stay. In our group, we had five people… myself, Carlos, Bryan, Robby, and Charlene. We went to the hostel called El Granado, and it was literally the best hostel I’ve ever been to. It was nice, and really felt like a hotel. I took a quick 15 minute siesta and was back on my feet to check out the city.

After that, we just walked around all over Granada and just got to get a little taste of the city.

Sunday 3.13.2011

Everything went pretty smooth while trying to get back home… well at least for most of us. Decent breakfast, coffee, and made it to the walked to the train station with perfect timing to buy our ticket. With 20 minutes to board though, Robby notices he left his nice sweater and dress shirts. He then sprints all the way back to the hostel, gets his crap, and sprints back and gets lost a bit (haha). He made it, dripping of sweat, and utterly out of breath with ONLY ONE MINUTE TO SPAIR! I really didn’t think he was going to make it…. But alas, a sunny ride to Sevilla… nothing compares to the feeling of coming home though.

The fun didn't stop though… at 9 pm that night I went to the Barcelona vs. Sevilla game in Sevilla. Great weekend!

Cadiz Carnaval

Last night, I went to Cadiz with a whole bunch of peops to check out the 'Carnaval' in Cadiz. Cadiz is off the west coast of Spain, so it's a beach along the Atlantic Coast.

Carnaval is like a Halloween on steroids, where everyone is just walking around everyone. It's definitely not the cleanest place in the world.... but it's a lot of fun. You could go to the beach, catch some live music and dancing, go to some plazas to hang out and what not. It's definitely a must see experience whether you're a party person or not. I guess, it's sort of like 6th street in Austin for Halloween, but people here actually where good costumes, and there's only a very crowded Burger King in Cadiz... instead of a line of Bars, Restaurants, and Clubs like in 6th street. Everything is just outside, so it's pretty cold too.

The Aladin Gang.... and yes, just a tad bit cold

Some tips if you plan on going: By 3:00 am, you're going to want to head back home. Discover Sevilla leaves at 3:00 am and We Love Spain leaves at 5:00 am. And neither of them give you bocadillos as solicited.

   

 . Like I said before... not the cleanest place ever

Just Wild

پژمان ابرارپور

Salsa en Sevilla

The only place I know to go to dance salsa in Sevilla is a place called Azucar de Cuba. I've been there before, and it's pretty legit. They have a salsa band and everything. (also, probably the only place you can get a Sevilla to actually dance with you)
Everyone is kind of tired from last night and resting for the Carnival in Cadiz tomorrow, so tonight should be a short and chilled night.

I would chill out too, it's just too hard to pass up salsa.

ISTANBUL... in a nutshell

Hey everyone… so this was my trip to Istanbul all in a nutshell. I didn’t want to touch fb, emails, or my blog while I was there… so here it all is... 2.23.2011 - 2.28.2011

First off, I want to say… I have never been to a country where so many people looked like me, so that was pretty cool in itself. 

Wednesday, February 23^rd

I left Sevilla on a bus to Madrid. I used a company called SociBUs… and their rates are about 30 Euros round trip. The drive is a 6 hour bus drive. And I was leaving with a few friends… so that made it way more phone. We arrived in Madrid at 11:00 PM. We took a one hour bus drive from there to get to Madrid’s Airport. So we arrived in Madrid at 12:00am. From there, we had to wait until 5:50 am for our bus to depart. That meant we had to wait until 4:00 am to check in… Let the Waiting begin.

Thursday, February 24^th.

After waiting for 4 hours, we went to check in our luggage (group of 8 people)… the tickets DID NOT WORK!!! Apparently, we all had bought our tickets from Best2fly.com with the method of transferring from account. Note** if you ever want to buy a ticket and aren’t fluent in the foreign language… don’t buy it. I feel like an idiot just by saying it because it seems like common sense, but yaaaa…. Just don’t buy a ticket out of impulse in a foreign language. So this is where shit got interesting.

We at this point had to buy a new ticket on the spot. Our choice was to either buy the next cheapest ticket anywhere that was cool and ditch our friends who were going to meet us in Istanbul, or hope to God something will clear out. We decided to wait, hope, and pray.

4:30am, we were told that there was possibly a cheap flight with Turkish Airlines for $212 Euros that departed later that afternoon, but we had to wait till 10 for them to open. So we waited and slept on the ground until 10:00 am finally came around…. But the tickets were crazy expensive, and the prices were changing constantly. Long story short, but by 1:00 pm, tickets for 4:00pm appeared for 212 euros. Before this we thought about going home, but at that very point, we knew we were going… and that’s all that mattered.

We arrived into Istanbul at 10:00 pm…. So 28 hours of traveling. Definitely an experience worth not happening again. The hostel we went to was Metropolis. Seemed good and has good reviews, but DO NOT GO TO THIS ONE if you can go to Orient Hostel.

Friday-Sunday February 25^th-28^th

I saw a lot of SHIT

Istanbul is unique because of all the history it has, all the religious backgrounds, cultural differences, and how it has been around for nearly 3000 years. Unbelievable

Friday:

I visited the Blue Mosque, the underground tunnel, and the Grand Bazaar.

Blue Mosque- Free. Definitely worth going. It’s beautiful on the outside, and the carpet, the lights, and the environment in the inside is really worth going. For this, you have to be sure to plan out your times because the Mosque is used for prayer still, so plan accordingly.

The Underground Tunnel: 20 Liras. This was just too cool. It is awesome to go here and just imagine the history of the past. They had two stone faces. These stone faces are believed to be from Medusa….. So, just crazy.

Grand Bazaar- Free… but beware. YOU WILL SPEND A LOT OF MONEY HERE…. Inevitable. So the grand bazaar is where they just sell a whole bunch of crap. I’d say 97% of the stuff they sell is fake.. . and bargaining here is key. If they give you a price… ask for 30% of that and start bargaining from there. If they say no, just walk off. If they want you, they’ll call you back. Bargaining here is more fun than buying the damn thing. We ended up going to the Grand Bizarre twice, and by the end of it, you literally want to bargain everything. I think by the end of the trip everyone was so used to bargaining, that we just didn’t end up doing stuff not because the price, but because we didn’t get to bargain a 50% of what they said. Just to give you an idea of what you can get… fake lacoste sweater could be bought for 30 liras,… which is the equivalent to $20. so good shit. If you buy in quantity, you can reduce the price per cost.

At night… food took like 2-2.5 hours… so if you want something fast… don’t go to a restaurant.

Saturday

Hagia Sophia Church/ Mosque- 20 Liras- Jaw dropping. This church/ mosque was built in 537 BC and was the biggest building in all of Europe for over a thousand years. The Hagia Sophia had influences from Jews, Christians, and Muslims all in the same church. This place is so big that even 2 hours wasn’t enough to check this place out. This is a must-go.

Grand Bizarre again…. Just awesome.

Went out to this one street at night. Forgot the name, but it was really fun.

Sunday:

Started the last day with the Bosphorous cruise. 15-50 Lira depending on length of cruise. It’s a must go. If you can, get there at 10:30 am & not a minute later so you can get a 5 hour cruise to the black sea. We went with this private tour guide, and I am sure what he did was illegal. He took us to some shady port and he dropped us off. I’m 95% sure we were not supposed to be there bc of all the glares we got from the people as we passed by. And we started to board the boat, he had us run into the cabin of the boat…  definitely some shady crap. And when my friend Robby asked him why, if it was illegal… he no longer could speak English. Haha. But hell, that’s an experience in itself. We got an hour to kill in Asia, and as weird as it is, the Asian side is 100% different than the European side… It was like we were in a completely different country.

After that, we walked across Istanbul to find the Theodesian Wall. This is where everything got exciting, shady, and just unbelievable. You know those pics of the Middle East where houses are burned but still remain, torn apart, the gravel on the streets is crappy, kids playing soccer in the streets, people selling pigeons for food by the houses, etc…  it as all there. We definitely walked through the slums of Istanbul. G.H.E.T.T.O. But this was my favorite part. There was 9 of us walking through this part of town in complete silence an in awe. This is where the culture shock kicked in. It was one of those things that we didn’t know how safe we were, because there was no tourists there. ictures could not explain what we saw. After 1 hour, we found the Theodesian wall. We walked along it, then we got to a very high and steep staircase that lead to the top of a wall. First off… it is VERY scary walking up a staircase without a handrail, because the thought of one slip, you go down, and possibly taking everyone down in front of you. Kind of freaky. Now, it get’s interesting.

We get to the top, and there were 4-5 teenagers smoking and what not, The leader of their group didn’t hesitate to try to ‘befriend’ us, but with the combination how he was talking, where we were, his body movement… VERY F***CKIG ERIE. As soon as they said hey, they sprinted down the staircase. Mind you, we were on top of a wall, with no railings, and had no idea where we were. We were as vulnerable as could be. The outcome was unknown.

We noticed how fast they went down, and so we decided to jet ASAP. We only had time for one picture, and once we got down it just got weirder. The other kids were already on the top of the other wall, and the leader of their group was trying to get us to follow them. There was no way in hell we were about to follow them. So we walked away as fast as possible. Those bastard kids started throwing rocks at us and had a clear aerial view of where we were going too. Luckily, we never got hit, and more lucky enough, there was a big street with taxis nearby. I didn’t even trust the taxi driver I was so freaked out, and he was just a happy, good person. Luckily, we walked away ok, without being harmed. I think when you travel it’s always good to get in these types of situations at least once with other people, so you don’t make a stupider mistake down the road.

That night, we finished off the trip with a Turkish bath. Go to the Orient Hostel, and those guys will hook you up with a local Turkish bath. I have never been as relaxed as I was for that 2 hours in years. Literally, a bunch of us half naked guys had no sense of time, and we started talking about religion. I don’t know if it was fate to be in Constantinople like so, but of us 4 guys, there was a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, and myself, a Baha’i. With all of us being so open-minded, I guess that topic was inevitable.

Monday- Dia de Andalucia. I left the hostel at 5:00 am. Plane left at 8:00, no problems. Everything went according to planned… thank God. Arrived in Sevilla, in my home, at 8:00 pm. 14.5 hours of traveling, but passed by in a blink of an eye. I never even thought about going to Turkey, but after going here, it just made we want to learn more about the world. I want to now see crazy places like Russia, Thailand, Albania, China, etc… It made me want to open my eyes to what is really out there, as opposed to what the tourists like to see. All in all, I don’t think I’ll forget the miniscule details of this trip.

Recommendations: Orient Hostel & all the sight-

seeing I have listed above.