7 Countries Down

Right now it is almost 8am and I'm waiting for my Anthropology of Food
class to start. I have 2 days at sea before Sweden. My 5 days in Russia
is over. This is going so fast. I thought it was going to go by slower,
but it didn't. Only 3 countries left. I am so exhausted after Russia. We
had really long days of walking and it was extremely hot.

Our last day in Russia was spent going to different markets. We were
brought to the usual souvenir stores and then we also got to see a food
market which was really cool. We saw a bunch of different places and
walked around the city for most of the afternoon. After Ireland and
Norway failed us, we are back on the chocolate croissant game thanks to
Russia. I liked Russia and it was a lot different than what I was
expecting. Partially because they hyped it up and warned us so much and
everyone was terrified to go. We tried these strange hot dogs that we
have been seeing a lot in the Scandinavian countries. Basically it was
like a hollowed out baguette and the hotdog went inside. It was kind of
like the hot dog was stuffed in the bread, they didn't use rolls. The
ketchup also looked like jelly and tasted a little different. I don't
really like hot dogs, but it was actually good. We got back on the boat
after 3 and I was asleep by 9 at night. Sweden is next!

Churches and Potatoes

Two days of Russia in one: GO! On the 26th we had a tour of Orthodox
churches. It was again super hot. We saw 5 churches in total. It was a
super long day, but it was really cool. My favorite church was the
church of Spilled Blood. I'll spare you the history, but it was the
assassination site of Alexander the I or II (I can't remember). It was
the traditional Russian style and the inside was unbelievable. I took so
many pictures, but it isn't the same. The entire inside, like entire
thing, was all mosaics. It was ridiculous. I can't imagine what it was
like making it all. They had the spot of the sidewalk still visible
inside the church where the assassination took place, so that was pretty
cool. One of the other churches was St. Issacs. While JoEllen was smart
and decided to go inside the air conditioned inside, I chose to climb to
the top. I got to climb 280 stairs in a winding circle in the super hot
weather. As usual the view was well worth it. For lunch they served us
salmon and potatoes, which I wasn't expecting in Russia. I gave my fish
to one of the guys at the table and I had potatoes for lunch. JoEllen
and I were absoulutely exhausted, but our history teacher gave us field
program tickets for that night. It was for the canal cruise and he said
he and his wife could not make it anymore. So shout out to Duane Osheim
for the awesome cruise! Our boat was called Ariel, so that was awesome.
We did not get back until 11 and we we're even more tired, but it was
awesome. It was so beautiful being on the water and seeing St.
Petersburg from the canals instead of the streets.

This morning we got to wake up at 6! We headed for Catherine the Great's
palace and gardens. It was funny because our guide told us that this
palace was considered "modest". The palace was huge and everything
inside was gold plated and over the top. We had to wear little like
scrubs over our shoes. They were a lovely brown and made us have elf
feet. After the palace and gardens we had lunch and had chicken and
mashed potatoes. It was so good, but neither of us could figure out how
the chicken was exactly prepared, but we inhaled it. After we went to
Peterhof gardens. They were huge. It was elaborate fountain after
fountain after fountain. We found one that you could go in, so of course
I did. It was great because I think it had to be approaching 90 degrees
at that point. After we walked to some water. We figured maybe it was
the ocean and then we realized it was the Gulf of Finland that they have
been talking about. So I have officially been in the Gulf of Finland.
Tomorrow is our last day and I can't believe how fast these 5 days are
going, but the whole trip is flying by like crazy.

A Moment of Silence for the Fallen

So our study abroad program is dwindling. Today we ripped off another
full sheet of our Google Docs itinerary. We have finished 2 sheets and
now there is only one left and about a third on another with our going
home information. After we rip each sheet off, I do my best bagpipe
impression as we say a few words and have a funeral procession to the
trashcan.

Today was out first day in St. Petersburg, Russia! At pre-port they
warned us about everything and there was a bunch of students that were
kind of scared of Russia. Not going to lie it is pretty intimidating
going through immigration, but Russia is not scary at all like everyone
was freaking about. It was not what I expected, but then again I don't
really know what I expected. I did expect colder weather and well it is
warmer here than it was in Spain. It was in the 80s and I was hot
walking around in shorts and a tee. We had a walking tour today for 7
hours and I am pooped. First our bus broke down, so we walked the half
hour to the Hermitage museum. The museum was in the Winter Palace and
other buildings in the main square. There were 5 buildings all together
and it took us about 3 hours to get through it all. I had seen pictures
of the square, but actually being there was like I can't even describe
it. In the museum I am pretty sure my mouth was hung open the entire
time. The ceilings of this place were insane. After the museum it was
linner time. It was like 4 so a lunch/dinner. JoEllen and I each got
something different and split the dishes. I had a blini which is like
the Russian version of a crepe. I got chicken inside and it was so good.
The other dish we split were perogies. My first time having them, I hate
to admit it, but the Italian in me likes gnocchi better. After we walked
along one of the rivers and then saw our first Orthodox church. I could
not get over it. On Saturday or Sunday, we have a tour that will take us
to the same church, but this time inside too. It was such a long day and
now it is almost 9. Tomorrow we have nothing planned but shopping and
getting some WiFi in the terminal. I'm hoping I can get some pictures
uploaded online for everyone to see. I have taken so many pictures so far!

I Can See Russia from my House

This is delayed I think. I don't remember forgetting about it, but last
day in Norway (the 21st)! Becca, JoEllen and I headed to the beach. The
beach is called Huk and we heard it was supposedly a nude beach but
luckily it wasn't. There were a lot of naked babies though and it was
weird. I guess the Norwegians aren't as crazy as my mother with sun
protection. We took a ferry across the fjord and walked around a half
hour through some neighborhoods to the beach. It was not like a New
Jersey beach at all! A lot of rocks in the water and coarse sand. No
soft sand like NJ. After we walked in a huge circle basically and found
a cafe for lunch. It was just another relaxing day for us. We took the
ferry back and walked around the city center before making our way back
to the ship. Basically after that I took a shower and fell asleep
because our feet were killing us. On Monday we passed by Sweden on one
side and Denmark on the other side while tanning on the deck. The
weather has been gorgeous. Now we are almost to Russia and we will see
land tomorrow, if I can get through these two midterms.

No Class, Frozen, and Manholes?

Today is a transit day from Bergen to Oslo. Some students decided to
make the transit by themselves or do a field program. A lot of kids
chose to stay off the boat so it was like empty today. There were no
classes on this sea day because half of the students are missing and
frolicking around Norway. JoEllen and Becca and I sat up on deck and
tanned all day. We did some swimming and Becca and I tried to do some
synchronized swimming. We failed at that. It was so nice out and pretty
hot. We are supposed to have really nice weather in Oslo. After we had a
nice sit down dinner. We got served a choice of dinners and the food was
really good. They said they were able to do it because more than half of
the boat was gone and that it was the captain and officers' idea. After
dinner the day got even better and they played Frozen in the Union. We
sang along to everything and it was so hard not to be screaming the
songs out loud. After that we played Heads Up for an hour with two
people we met at dinner, Alyssa and Adam. It's that game where you put
the cell phone on your forehead and everyone else has to act it out for
you guess. Some of our charades were insane and hilarious. Like one that
JoEllen was guessing. I laid on the floor and pretended to be a manhole
cover while Becca moved me and came out of the ground. I'm sure it was
fun for the people walking by to watch because it was a disaster the
stuff we were trying to do. Tomorrow we are in Oslo! Until the 20th and
then we are off to Russia. I'm getting sad already that it is more than
halfway over.

Trolling in Bergen

Norway Norway NORWAY. I LOVE NORWAY. At least Bergen so far. So yesterday we arrived early, yet again, to Bergen. We were allowed to get off of the ship at 6. We made it off after dinner and by 9 I was in love with the city. We walked around the streets of this cute little old town on the water. The entire time all we could say was "is this real?" or "are we in Disney?". Becca, JoEllen, and I (now the 3 musketeers, it's casual) stumbled upon the FlØibanen. It is a tram that pulls you up the mountain. The views were insane, but once we got off we started with the "is this real?" again. The views of the city and the water were incredible. Norway is just so beautiful. I think I took about 300 pictures just then. After we found some cool shops. I bought some trolls. Not the troll dolls like we have, but traditional trolls. They are actually really creepy and ugly. For some reason though I think they are cute and I am obsessed with them. I love the trolls. They are so hideously cute. Oh and also blackcurrant ice cream. That's all I have to say about that.

Today we took a bus to a ferry and a ferry to a train and a train to another train and a train to the bus and the bus to the ship. Literally that was our day and I'm tired. The program was called Norway in a Nutshell and we took transportation sysytems all day through mountains and fjords and it got even prettier. We stopped at waterfalls and sang Frozen all day, at least I did in my head. I again took another like 1000 pictures of the same mountain/ fjord, but they are from different angles so completely different shots. I did not know what to expect with the Scandinavian countries, so I was very surprised with Norway and it is definitely in my top countries list. I would probably come back here one day. Tomorrow we are in transit to Oslo and because some students are traveling off the ship between cities there are no classes! I can't wait to sleep past 7.

"Hold On I'm Drying My Underwear"

So I decided that it would fun to tell everyone about what it is like to live on a ship for 10 weeks (and answering the questions I got asked a lot before I left). I LOVE MY SHIP HOME

Laundry:
We leave laundry outside of our doors in plastic bags that they give us. We mark off how many of each type of clothing we have on our laundry sheets. Our laundry is only done on days that we are at sea and we usually get the bag back the same day. JoEllen and I wear our sweatshirts and jeans as much as we can and then we literally stuff them in the bags and usually break the sides open. It costs 6 dollars a bag, so we try and save money that could be used in port. For the rest of our clothes we mostly resort to sink washing and hanging them on the line in the shower. Tonight I wanted to shower and I had to wait for JoEllen to finish blow drying her underwear. Yes that happens.

Cabin Life:
Our cabins are small but not too bad at all. We have plenty of room for all of our clothes and the beds are comfy. When we are at sea our drawers and doors close for us, which is pretty nice. The one thing that stinks in the room literally is the boat gets this really bad weird smell sometimes and it stinks up the halls and rooms. The best way I can explain taking a shower while at sea is to imagine showering in a coat closet during an earthquake. It is small and the curtain will sway in and stick to you while you basically are stumbling back and forth from the rocking.

That Education Part?:
So yea part of studying abroad involves studying although it looks like we just travel and lay around. We all take 3 classes and only go during time at sea. So we have 3 days in a row this week and the previous week we only had 1 day. Mine are all in a row from 8 to 12. Our "classrooms" are just closed off sitting areas on the ship. So my one class is basically held in a sitting area with tables and chairs and a huge couch along the back. So we lounge on a couch during class and try to not fall asleep.They have fold out walls that pull out and close the space off to make it a class during sea. Contrary to the elementary school belief that teachers sleep under their desks and live at the school, they are out and about with us. I have been on tons of excursions with teachers and their office hours are basically "if you see me at lunch or dinner come talk to me". They are all really cool and want to help. I have been on deck tanning and reading when my Econ teacher has come out and started tanning a few chairs away. It is weird, but you get used it.

Communicating:
I can send postcards! I sent some in Portugal so 6 countries ago and they have still not arrived sooo. I try to get WiFi in port when I can to send pictures and texts through What's app. Then I have my horrible international cell that HATES ME. Literally it never works for me and I want to throw it overboard. Lastly I have what JoEllen and I call snail mail. It is our on-board email that I use to update blogs and talk back home. It works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. It usually doesn't work in our cabins, but if you right outside the door it will work.

Food:
Breakfast is from 7:30-8:30, lunch from 11:30-1:30, dinner from 5:30-7:30, and late night snack at 10-10:30. They also have a pool bar and a snack bar where you can buy food at basically anytime. The food is not that bad and I wasn't expecting high quality. The problem and why I am always hungry is because there is the same thing everyday. The 3 P's - Pasta, Potatoes, and Pork. Basically we stuff our faces when in port and go food shopping.Our famous line after eating is "thank god that's over".

Reflecting and Scones?

Its reflecting time! I was going to group the countries in more than 2,
but Scotland and Ireland were my favorites so far. Here are my country
reflections and croissant ratings.

Glasgow, Scotland:
Scotland was so amazing. It was extremely green and had sheep
everywhere, I wanted to take one home with me. The city was clean and
old. It had such nice architecture and buildings. The people were
amazing. They were so incredibly nice, I just wanted to hug them all.
They were all so nice and honestly cared and wanted to talk to you and
help. I loved Scotland and way more than I thought I would. I did not
know what to expect going in and I fell in love with it. I feel bad
saying this, but I think I might have liked it a little more than
Ireland. It was just beautiful everywhere, even taking the train was
nice. We had some cool programs, did shopping, and got drinks. The food
was good and it was just an overall fun country and good time. I was
pretty close to crying when we had to leave this country. This one
definitley gave me the "wow this study abroad thing is really
happeneing" feeling. When we left, bagpipers played as we left. It was
an amazing experience that I won't forget. Croissant rating: 2.5

Dublin and Galway, Ireland:
Ireland! The country I was most excited about. I loved every second of
this country. It is very close in ranking with Scotland. The only thing
that puts it lower is the weather. We got lucky with the weather in
Scotland, but not here. It was raining on and off and that hindered our
Cliffs of Moher experience. I have never seen so many cows before and it
was also so green and beautiful. The landscapes and views were amazing
along with all of the sites that I went to see. The people here were
also so nice and hospitable. The drinks were great and so was the food.
There was so much to see and do here and it was so much fun and I fell
in love with the country. I expected to like it, but not as much as I
did. I will definitely be making a point to return to Ireland some day.
Croissant rating: WE DIDN'T FIND ONE. So I had a scone, which I can't
rate. It was my first scone ever and I didn't like it that much.

Would You Like Fries with That, Ireland?

Here is day 3 and 4! I love you Ireland and your insane amounts of cows!

Day Three:
The next day we woke up and got on the bus again at 9am. We headed a few
minutes to the cliffs for the ultimate disappointment. It was raining,
Ireland weather was doing its thing and there was zero visibility. We
walked up to the cliffs and could hear the birds and water, but we saw
nothing but fog and more fog. You could barely see maybe a car length in
front of you. So although I did actually make it to the Cliffs of Moher,
I did not see anything. I don't know if that counts. But don't worry I
took pictures of me and the fog. After our tour guide turned to plan B,
which involved more driving and stopping in hour intervals. We stopped
at some weird limestone thing and the whole ground was covered in
boulders. It was pretty cool, but still hard to see far away. This trip
kind of was a let down. I was most excited about the cliffs and
basically saw nothing. The few hundred dollar trip consisted of sleeping
on the bus and wondering when our next meal was. Kind of a bummer, but
at least I got my napping in. Not much you can do with this weather.
After we got back we decided to go out into Dublin around 8. We did some
damage at the first bar. Like over 20 euro for two drinks. But, my
parents did say "don't be cheap, if you see something you really like
buy it" so I did. I made my own blackcurrant juice concoction, so good.
We headed around to Temple Bar, which is always packed and a lot of fun.
Then I found another store where I was able to replace the broken
Guinness mug from day one. It took a few drinks to get me to suggest
going to Burger King. We were starving and bars stop serving food at
like 8 or 9. That would never work in the U.S. Anyway I had my first and
last Whopper in 21 years and the night just got funnier and funnier. We
were so tired and probably should not have had that last drink. At one
point I kept saying that I could no longer feed myself. It's tiring work
lifting your arm. Good thing we have it on video. On the shuttle ride,
JoEllen kept calling the foot rest a foot schoochie and we started
discussing the show Extreme Cheapskates. Within 5 minutes she managed to
rename it to Extreme Sheepscapes and Extreme Cheesesteaks. I'm pretty
sure everyone on the bus hated us because we could not stop obnoxiously
laughing.

Day Four :( :
Last day in Ireland! Why is this happening? This whole leaving the
countries is not cool Semester at Sea, not cool. Today was Newgrange! We
got up for our 7:30am trip and boarded the struggle bus, we were
driving. Newgrange was amazing. It is a 5,000 year old tomb and it was
so insane. We could not take pictures inside so I got a post card with
an inside picture of it on it. I still can't get over it. Newgrange is
set up so that on the Winter solstice the sun shines through the opening
and into the back chamber. It is so ridiculous to me that they charted
the sun and built the tomb perfectly. The inside was crazy. I don't know
a word to describe it. It is so old and the amount of work and
engineering that went into it is amazing. In 5,000 years it has never
had any rain come in or had any part of it collapse. I loved it. After
we went to a hill called Tara. It was really pretty and had gorgeous
views of the country. Just green and more green everywhere. It was a
really cool day. I really don't like history, but I love it when it
involves ruins and old structures that can barely be explained. After
the tour we went into Dublin and of course got some ice cream before
boarding the shuttle to the ship. When we got back we saw that a cruise
ship had joined us in the port. It is the Ruby Princess and literally
makes our boat look like a canoe next to it. It is now 9pm and we left
Ireland an hour ago. So sad. Now we are on our way to Norway and my
email is still not working, so hopefully I can get this up soon. 3 days
at sea and then we lose an hour and become 6 hours ahead!

"If You See Something You Really Like Buy It"

So our on ship e-mails have been shut down for all of Ireland, since we
left Scotland. Here is 2 days of Ireland (my homeland!) in one post.

Day One:
We had a city tour of Dublin to see some sites. We went to Guinness
first. That was a pretty cool experience. We went through a little tour
I guess to learn how the beer is made. We went onto the 4th floor for
the best schooling ever. The Guinness Academy. They showed us exactly
how to pour and craft the perfect pint. Everyone in our "class" got to
try and we all graduated with our pints. After the academy we had lunch
which was amazing beef and mashed potatoes. I got my dad this really
cool mug and I BROKE it. After Guinness we toured St. Patrick's
cathedral which was so pretty. I love old churches because of the
architecture and the stained glass windows. By the time we finished at
the church, JoEllen and I signed off of the field program and went off
on our own. We got to see Trinity college (mom and dad I could go to
grad school there!) Our plan for the day was to: shop, pub, shop, pub,
shop, pub ... and on and on. We did our shopping and did our drinking. I
got hit on by an Irishman at a cigar shop, not really making it any
easier for me to leave this country. Back to the important stuff, we did
not have one bad drink in Ireland. One of the drinks we got was a
blueberry frozen margarita. It was basically an alcoholic slurpee in a
margarita glass. While we were at one of the bars it started pouring and
would not stop. JoEllen bought a broken umbrella and with that we
decided to walk to the shuttle that takes us to port.

Day Two:
The next day was our overnight trip to the Cliffs of Moher, which I was
so excited about. To sum up our 2 day and 1 night trip in a sentence : I
paid $300 to nap on a bus. The first day was spent hopping on and off
the bus a few times during a 3 hour ride. We saw the Devil's Punch Bowl,
rivers, and a castle. I can't remember the castle name, but Mary and I
decided to walk around the castle on the path and there she almost fell
off the side of the hill. We could not stop laughing after she death
gripped me and stayed put. We finally got to the hotel around 5 and it
was a nice place. I felt like I was in the Lizzie McGuire movie. After
making it to the hotel we had dinner and I had chicken curry, in
Ireland? Weird to see on that menu and to have in this country. We ended
up going out to a few pubs that were in this little town with 2 of the
guys that we were sitting with on the bus. One is from New Jersey. I
don't know what it is, but all of us NJ kids seem to find each other and
flock together. After drinks we slept and my bed was horrible. It was
99% springs and I felt like I was sleeping on a pile of scrap metal at
some points, but I passed out anyway. Oh and I burned like 3 layers of
skin off in the shower because it would just drastically change
temperatures on you. It was an interesting night.

Bagpiped Out of Port

Today was our last day in Scotland and not one part of my body wants to
leave. I am writing this while sitting in the window watching us sail
away. I could start crying right now. I see some sheep still!!

Today we got to sleep past 7 because we didn't have anything planned. We
got up and walked 30 minutes to the Greenock train and headed to
Glasgow. We basically wandered all day. We got steak pie and it was sooo
good. It was actually really warm out. We did souvenir shopping and
finally got our croissants. That makes 5 countries and 5 croissants. No
one is going to stop us. We are on a mission to get 11/11. We made the
train again to be back on board by 6.

We just got back into the room because we were watching the boat pull
away from port. It was the coolest thing ever. While the crew got the
boat ready, bagpipers came out of the port terminal. They played for a
good 30 minutes. It was so amazing and such a legit Scottish experience.
They had people on the dock at the port waving with flags and they kept
playing as we got further away. It was probably the coolest experience
so far. It was pretty hard not to jump off the ship and stay in
Scotland, but Ireland is next. I don't know how I will leave there.

Loch Lomond featuring Chicken Wing

So today we had to be up earlier than usual to catch the bus to Loch
Lomond. We are currently on the bus as I type this first half. This is
one of those field programs where we got graced with a boxed lunch from
the ship. Our cardboard boxes included an unidentified cube of cake, a
hard boiled egg, Capri Sun, 2 Oreos, a cheese and mystery meat sandwich,
an apple, and finally last but not least a chicken wing. Yea a chicken
wing/drumstick wrapped in plastic wrap. I will be eating well this
afternoon.

So onto the hike that occurred this afternoon. It was not well
described. We got there with our hats and gloves that they told us to
bring and it was chilly but hot once we got moving. It looked like it
could have stormed but it didn't and it got pretty warm. Everything they
told us to bring was not needed and just made my backpack heavier. They
also said a hike around the lake, but no it was a hike up a 1000ft.
mountain to see a view of the hike. Eric you would have been in hiking
heaven. JoEllen started getting a sinus cold yesterday so it was already
going downhill from the start (get it? it's punny). We made it halfway
and the view was so beautiful. Once again mom and dad I am not leaving
Scotland. It was so green and beautiful and I saw a sheep frolicking
around. It was very steep for the most part and there were areas that
basically seemed like rock climbing to me (not as vertical, but kind of
tricky).

JoEllen was not feeling well at the halfway point so being the fabulous
friend I am (I'm so funny), I went back down with her and we were also
joined by 2 life long learners. Junko and Lareida are from Hawaii, and
said they had been friends for 40 years. They were so nice and funny, it
was like seeing the older version of us two in the future. We made it
down with them and we walked around the lake and found a pretty dock.
They took pictures with us and JoEllen and I of course took a selfie
with them. Luckily JoEllen started to feel better and we stopped into
this little cafe called the Oak Tree Inn. It was so cute, like the
cutest place ever. There were all these different grandfather clocks on
the walls and tons of logs stacked up. They had pictures of guys on the
wall with huge fish that they caught. My favorite part was that all of
the chairs were different, like all old and mismatched. Our table was
actually an old sewing machine table. We all just had a coffee break,
and Junko insisted on paying which was so nice of her. We ended having a
really nice day without killing ourselves on the mountain.

P.S. - The cube of cake was later identified as pound cake.
P.P.S - My mom is pointing out mistakes in past blogs to me, but I
cannot change them because I cannot get onto my blog site. I update my
blog by email and I can't do much else. So I am sorry for my mistakes
everybody. "Nobody's perfect, I gotta work it again and again til I get
it right" - Hannah Montana

Tatties or Naw?

Drowning in tatties. That's the Scottish word for potato for those who
have their mind in the gutter. So yea I'm kind of hilarious. We have
potatoes available everyday on the ship for breakfast, lunch, and
dinner. We are not exactly jumping to try any Scottish or Irish potatoes.

Anyway we got into port at Greenock, Scotland yesterday morning. The one
bad thing is that when we pull into port the boat makes these really
loud noises at like 6am. We hear it all because we are the first room
towards the front.

So a few things.
First: They are so super nice here and I love the accents.
Second: It is very green.
Third: Sheep. That's all.
Fourth: This weather is insane. Rain, chilly, sunny, and hot all within
the span of a minute.
Fifth: There is a clan called Blair, so even though it is spelled wrong,
my name (sort of) is on stuff!

So we had a walking tour yesterday and it was really pathetic honestly.
We did run into an orange parade which was basically celebrating the
Presbyterian religion. We had about an hour and a half maybe of this
"walking tour" of Glasgow and we were taken to a church and an
acropolis. The acropolis was basically their nice way of saying
graveyard so we went to a city of dead people for the most part. Some of
the graves were really old and from the 1800's. We got a little free
time and I found black currant Capri Sun!The tour itinerary was like
here is a church and here are some graves, now go home. After the tour
we went food shopping because we are hungry a lot. Like all the time,
especially when at sea. I complain to my mom like everyday about the
food here on-board and I don't really want to eat potatoes or pasta ever
again in my life. I am a very picky eater, but once we get in port and I
am basically ready to eat anything that is not pasta. I mean seriously I
had liver in Spain, still not getting over that. Gross. I don't think
food should be grey.

Today we went into Edinburgh and saw the city and castle. It was on this
volcano and some of the rocks were I think over 350 million years old.
The science nerd in me thought that was pretty fricken' cool. The castle
was really old and pretty. I wouldn't mind having my own castle. Eric,
if you are reading this, could you take care of that issue of me not
having a castle? For the most part, I just couldn't get over the old
rock thing. We wandered around and found a dog cemetery, which was
pretty interesting. We had like 4 hours of free time so we wandered
through cool shops and got food. Real food! I had a Scottish beef burger
and I almost died. Real meat. Heaven.

Reflections and Croissants

So I decided to start sort of reflecting on the countries. In my classes
we always talk about what we saw or felt about the ports on our first
day of classes after a country. I have already been to 3 of my 10 (plus
France) so I will do it in groups. So I'll give this a try. And I guess
while I am at it I will rate croissants (1 to 5), since we have one in
every country.

London England:
I only had a day here, but I still loved it like I did the first time.
The city is so clean and for the most part everyone is really friendly.
It is like a cleaner version of New York, but with funny accents. I love
their accents. Even taking the tube (their version of the subway) was
good. It wasn't scary and dirty like it is in our cities. We walked
around and everything is so old and beautiful. It is nice seeing all of
the different buildings and old landmarks instead of skyscrapers.
Croissant rating - 2

Lisbon, Portugal:
I loved Portugal way more than I was expecting to. I did not know what
to expect, but I really liked it. The streets and quarters of the city
were so nice and small. It was like walking around a little old town
that you read about or something. The people were friendly and many
spoke English. I did learn some Portuguese though. The homes and
buildings were really colorful and I loved the brightness. I was also
fascinated and in love with the tile work and the insanely detailed
ceilings and buildings. I wish I could post pictures, but these emails
can't handle attachments. I really liked wandering around Lisbon and
finding new hidden things down old small streets. There was a lot of
history in the city and it was cool seeing things that had been around
since the 13th century. The one thing I did notice that I did not like
was all of the cigarette smokers. Almost everyone. And what I hated even
more is how they just threw them on the ground and dropped them
everywhere. I also liked how the older women (like grandma age) had
their hair dyed like blue and purple. It was interesting. Croissant
rating - 4

Bilbao, Spain:
I liked Portugal way better than Spain. It was not the country that I
had imagined, but I guess because I was in Basque Country and not the
cities. It was not a scenic by the port but once you got into Bilbao it
was really nice. The buildings were really old and close together. It
sort of reminded me of London. It was quieter and there wasn't as much
to do as the other places. It had a bunch of little streets and shops. I
had a lot of trouble eating in Spain. I could not get used to their meal
times (like dinner at 9-11). When we were hungry for dinner, it was hard
to find a meal. We usually could only find tapas. For the most part I
did not like the tapas. I am not a seafood eater so it was harder for me
to find food. I also hate mayonnaise which they seemed to use a lot of.
The rest of the area was really nice. It was very mountainous and had
tons of greenery and really great views to look at. Croissant rating - 3

Biarritz and Saint Jean de Luz, France:
Saint Jean de Luz was not that exciting and basically everything was
closed. This is also were we got lost in France. Compared to Biarritz it
was not very great. So Biarritz, was awesome. Everyone loved it. it was
basically a beach town and the views were insane. There were tons of
huge rocks out in the ocean and tons of little downtown-ish and beach(y)
shops and places to eat. Compared to being in Paris before, it was such
a huge difference to city. I really liked it there a lot and it was nice
to see a different part of France. Croissant rating - 5

"To the Window to the Wall"

Yesterday we left port at 6 and then went a little bit and dropped
anchor. The port is still visible and we found out they did this because
A. they had to leave the port and B. if they stayed close they could
have satellite still to stream the world cup game. So we are still in Spain.

Last night was really interesting because of sitting in the middle of
the water. We were rocking from side to side and like crazy. Our stuff
was falling over and our drawers were closing themselves. JoEllen began
singing the song that goes like ... "to the window, to the wall, to the
wall" because we were literally sliding in our beds as our room sea-sawed.

Adios!

So Sunday we took a shuttle ride to Sopelana (hope I am spelling that right) for a festival. It was pretty cool. It started off as a parade that everyone basically followed and then they went to church. JoEllen and I went in search of food and wandered the streets and found a cool candy store with some interesting things. At about 12 they had little vendors set up with crafts and toys for the kids. JoEllen got her hair wrapped and I added to my dream catcher collection with one in the colors of the Basque flag. Afterwards there were children that danced and the festival continued again.

Yesterday we had our wine tasting in La Rioja. It was not what we thought it would be. We visited 2 wineries and in one we went into the wine " cemetery ". It had wine from every year since the place opened. Everything was covered in mold, like covered, some of the bottles could barely be seen. The wineries and vineyard were really pretty and there were so many of them. We only actually tasted 2 wines on our wine tasting experience, which was strange. We had lunch and I had veal for the first time. After we went back to the port and got on the shuttle to the town in Bilbao. In every country we have been trying to collect a key chain. We want one from every country and then we can make something at the end. Unfortunately, I am already missing a country. I could not find one for Spain. Maybe I'll have to order a cheap one off of Amazon for Bilbao, Spain. (Dad if you are reading this you should help me out). I fell asleep really early and now classes are started again.

We are actually half way through classes already which is crazy. After class we plan on sitting up on the main deck, and yes mom I am using sunscreen and purell. We have a project and test tomorrow and 2 papers due this week. Overall, I liked Portugal way better than Spain. I found myself starving everyday in this country. They eat at way different times than us and I did not really like the food here. We are still docked in Spain and will be leaving for Scotland next. We should be in Glasgow by Saturday.