New York on a Monday started out with me meeting my cousin Miel who was staying in New Jersey with her relations to wander the city and hit Central Park.

While searching for Mario Battali's Otto we ended up in West village and found this charming park:




Mario Battali is this famous American-Italian chef, who has several shows on TV. We went to Otto, his pizza parlor which is quite affordable. We got the special pizza, rigatoni con sausage e escarole, and this fantastic anchovy appetizer that Miel found a bit too sour. I loved it tho, it was soaked in just the right amount of vinegar, mixed in with scallions and crutons to absorb much of the flavor. The food blog that we may start some day will have more details.

In the meantime, here is a photo of me devouring the pizza, which according to my notes was sweet and flavorful. Never mind that I forgot to write down what kind of pizza it was. All I remember was that it was the highlight of the meal.



Here is Miel outside Otto. I wanted to go back another day and try the pizza lardo, but we ran out of time. Oh well, next time!



Next, we went to Central Park but not before popping by the friendly neighborhood Starbucks that was right at the end of the park. We met up with my friend Andrea, who is from Melbourne and was also visiting the states at the same time. We all headed out to Central Park and we went to the zoo.

This is a Lemur from Madagascar. It looks cute but is probably vicious.



We also saw polar bears who looked very hot and stifled and sweaty (they must love winter) and a whole lot of cute penguins that did all this jumping and gliding around.

Afterwards we wandered through the park in an attempt to find the statue of Alice in Wonderland. We managed not to get lost so much. (Andrea had gotten lost previously and was worried it would happen again) So we stopped and asked for directions repeatedly, just in case.

We finally found the statue and I must say we may have gotten a little obsessed with taking pictures on the thing. (We have at last count 14 pictures with this statue.) When we got there, there were all these kids climbing all over it, so we had to wait for them to go. Then we had to wait for this lady to stop taking pics of her kid, until finally I started climbing on the statue and she got the hint and said, Just a couple of more pictures, girls and we said, oh no you're all right. There were also these teeny boppers with amazing agility - you may see one of them posing in the background to the left, sitting on top of the "tree".

Here is one of our Alice pictures.





We continued our wander thru Central Park, where in typical fashion we tried to figure out which movies were shot where. At this particular moment where I am fairly sure they shot a bit of definitely maybe further down the row of benches, we took a few pictures. Here is Miel reenacting a musical. (Possibly Enchanted. McDreamy, where are you?)



After wandering around for quite a bit we found Strawberry Fields and the John Lennon Mosaic. I thought there would be a bit more to it then that (I thought there might be a memorial wall as well to commemorate his death anniversary or something) but apparently not.

Here's me getting really dirty lying on the ground next to the John Lennon Mosaic.



After Central Park, Andrea left to go home and have a rest at her hostel. Miel & I went around a bit, hit H&M and then ended up in Borders where I grabbed my first round of books. (Y'all knew that was going to happen.) Then I went home.

Andrea came down to the lower east side where I was staying and we had dinner nearby at Schiller's which is a fantastic liquor bar/restaurant that has the best macaroni & cheese ever. (I once saw M.I.A. at this restaurant and Lia had to point her out to me) We had a great dinner.

This is a picture of our dessert, sticky date pudding, which was fantastic



After dinner we wandered around alphabet city checking out the bars that Andrea's friend recommended but they turned out to be dives so we headed back to near my house and ended up in a tapas bar having cocktails (that weren't too great but oh well its the company that matters). It ended up being a great night.

Today I went to Connecticut to see Jodi & Beck.

I booked the amtrak train to New Haven to meet Beck for brunch. My train was scheduled at 9am. I went to the machine to retrieve my ticket but it wouldn't let me do it so I lined up at customer service and consequently missed my train due to the length of the line. I got a ticket for the 10am trip and was upgraded to business class by an apologetic customer service staffer. Thank you, american customer service. I didn't even have to throw a cow.

Beck picked me up at the station and off we went to brunch at Bella's, which is meant to be the best brunch in CT. It was quite good and we ended up ordering exactly the same thing just because it sounded good.



Poached eggs with brioche on rosemary bread, potatoes & apple smoked bacon

After brunch we drove off to Hartford to see my friend Jodi. Jodi and I did the Lares trek in Peru together. While New Haven is more a bustling college town, Hartford is a full on city, albeit a ghost city on Sundays, where nothing is open and no one is there, not even the random tourist. Jodi just bought a fantastic one bedroom apartment in a brownstone which is decorated with artwork collected from her random travels. I love it.

Jodi took us to coffee at Jojo's, the only coffee shop open in Hartford at 3pm!



Here is a sign from their coffee shop



Jodi & me, reunited

Jodi had to go see her dad in MA so we left her at about 5 and headed back to New Haven. Beck took me to Yale where she is taking a PhD in economics. Everything in Yale looks like a church. We passed through the courtyard where Indiana Jones 4 was shot. They did the scene in the library in one of the dining halls. We also saw these random buildings that are meeting places for these "secret societies" where you network with other rich people. (like george w. bush)

There is also this random statue of this man from Yale who was recruited to spy for the British. He drank his tea the wrong way so he was caught and hanged. There is a CIA museum in Yale, so they commissioned a statue of the guy. They knew his name but they didn't know what he looked like so they asked Yale to provide them with a picture of any Yale student from that time. So now there is a statue of a random man with the right name but possibly the wrong face representing one of the first spies in american history.



The library at Yale. Yes, it looks like a church, too. There is a newer library two floors underground. Suffice it to say yale has a lot of money.



Me & Beck at Yale

After wandering around Yale we had a snack a pizza place where I excitedly ate mozzarella sticks for the first time in forever and mooched off the neighboring gourmet store's internet. (i love random wireless connections for the phone) Then I took the train home and fell asleep.

Am now at Lia's about to have dinner at 11pm which is becoming a habit in this house! hahaha :)

I am in New York, bitchez hahaha

Despite the delay, Deltra was pretty good. There were so many movies to watch (I saw three!) and the service was great. I saw "the proposal", "the hangover", and "nick & norah's infinite playlist".We were delayed by an hour and a half from Sydney. And then we ended up in LA. They gave a voucher so we got California Pizza Kitchen (rather excitedlY). But there was no Starbucks.

Finally made it to NY at about 9ish. Got to Lia's at quarter to eleven thanks to all the luggage and waiting for stuff. I am proud I did not get lost once, and I only had to ask for directions once and it was to ask which side of the subway platform to stand on. Go Me!

I found my way to Lia's and we had dinner at midnight at the Dominican diner on the corner where I had a chorizo sandwich and did not practice my Spanish. We then went to pick up the dog she is dog sitting. his name is Porterhouse and he is a basset hound. He is three and he is scared of cats and people in general.

I love how everything is still open in New York and I went to the convenience store and got Ben & Jerry's. There were people out going to clubs and patting our doggie and everything. There is also a cat in this house called Mickey who belongs to Lia's housemate Caroline.

I will now attempt to go to bed. Later on I will go to Connecticut to see Beck & Jodi.

Here is part 4 of my best of series!

This is a picture from one of the rooms in the Sultan's Harem at Topkapi Palace



( Best of Turkey )

Here is part 3 of my best of series!

This photo is from a flamenco photography exhibit in Sevilla



( Best of Spain )

Happy New Year, everyone!

Here is the second part of my Best of series.



The Koln Cathedral


Tallinn

( Best of Germany & Estonia )


And just for fun, we have this, which I think you'll only understand if you were...there with me hahahaha (or a football fan :P)






( Best of Futbol )

Since everyone has been asking me my favorite place and I can never answer, I've decided to just collate and post the Best of every place I went to. So to close out the year and this trip, here is the Best of Series.

I'm starting with the Americas.



( Best of Peru )




( Best of Virginia )



( Best of New York )

looking back i just realised that i didn't post what happened to me when i left jordan.

well, they took my passport, yeah? well they couldn't find it when it was time for me to go. they thought it would be with a pile of thai passports but it wasn't. the guy behind the immirgation counter and i had this conversation, where i used a very.firm.voice.

Me: Where is my passport?
guy: Miss you are very beautiful.
Me: Where is my passport?
guy: Miss you are very beautiful.
Me: Thank you. Where is my passport?
Guy: It is in another building, i will get it for you it will take 10 minutes. just wait.

While he was gone, I looked up and saw the pictures of King Hussein, the late ruler of Jordan and his son, King Hussein II. I gave them both a look and said out loud, "look, I've been really nice to your people so far even if I've been fucked over a few times. can i just have my passport back please?!?"

And lo and behold the guy showed up with a bunch of Iraqi passports with mine right in between.

And that is how I got out of Jordan.

We have a cat. Its name is Muning, a typical name for a Philippine female cat. Unfortunately when Muning grew up, she turned out to be a boy. So now, he's Mu. Mu is cute, white and orange and is obsessed with my toes. He likes my room and for some reason he chases me all over the place when I walk around. He doesn't like string or any toys. He likes my toes. He also likes to come and sit next to me when I am on the toilet.

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I have honestly done nothing in Manila but eat. And meet people. I have in fairness hung around with mum, but I figure that since we're spending time in Hong Kong together its okay for me to spend time with other peeps. Mum has a lazy boy. I think she likes it a lot.

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Insert random football comments here

I cannot believe Valladolid beat Villareal. WTF? Are they that good now? They were doing really bad last season. Apparently they've kicked ass this time as they have beat them. IIRC only Barca was able to do that so far.

My team is very sad. Four people injured, half the people playing haven't got as much experience - I'm all for you know, trying them trying but not all at the same time! They appear to be kalat and don't always have the best defense. And most of the time I just want to hug papa raul he looks so tired. and Iker, I know it was Eva's birthday, but please focus. Thank you.
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I ate at North Park today. Then I was so sleepy while everyone was drinking beer I was drinking coffee. Tomorrow I have lunch coffee dinner rockeoke. It sounds exhausting just thinking about it, really. I hope I have nothing but family on Tuesday so I can just relax.

While walking through Greenbelt 5 and passing a windows display of Beatrix Potter's characters from the Tales of Peter Rabbit.

Mom: I know that rabbit!
Me: Its the characters of Beatrix Potter.
Mom: Potty Rabbit!
Me: (laughing really hard now) Mom! Beatrix Potter, created Peter Rabbit.
Mom: So its got nothing to do with Harry Potter, right?
Me: Moooom!

On discussing the new rental arrangements in our house

Mom: So where does Pia work
Me: HSBC
Mom: What
Me: HSBC!
Mom: WHAT! She's just visiting?!?!
Me: Mooooom! AyChE Ez Bee Zee!

Wow nana, you're tough.

So. This morning, my last day in Istanbul we had brekkie at swissotel. Because Duke's husband is the executive pastry chef there we get fed for free (yay!) Then I left for the airport.

When I got to the airport Royal Jordanian said, you were listed as a no show on Nov 10, and you don't have a booking. Very calmly I showed them the nice itinerary that American Airlines sent me, confirming that I was booked in for today, Nov 12. So the girl at the counter called her supervisor and they sorted it out. I was very nice but she was still cranky and the guy said, okay it is sorted you will have to fly out from Bangkok tomorrow, but its okay. Your baggage will go to Hong Kong. (Flight is Istanbul-Amman-Bangkok-Hong Kong, I arrive in Hong Kong 1145pm and sleep in the airport for 6 hours and get a PAL flight to Manila)

As I am walking towards the boarding platform I get paged so I go to the information counter and speak on the phone to what I presume is the Royal Jordanian girl who says, no its all sorted no problem. I have this nagging feeling that something is wrong.

This is confirmed when I get to Amman and go to the transit desk. Apparently, there was some miscommunication with American Airlines round the world desk whatever and my flight to bangkok-hongkong has been cancelled. So the guy behind the counter says he'll sort it out. I explain, show him the confirmation, etc and very calmly go and sit down. I must stress that through this entire episode I am very calm.

While waiting, a whole flight of people show up from Iraq. I make friends with this american lady of egyptian heritage who has to go back to egypt because her brother is dying. She very nicely asks the guys my questions in arabic, tho everyone here speaks good english, heaps better than turkey even. I also make friends with this young 20 something dude that got his papers to migrate to america. He is very excited to move, and was telling me about all these army/navy people he met who are of filipino heritage.

Between this I also call Falx, who is the only person I can think of who is awake at midnight in the Philippines and bitch to him while he is in the shower. Duke also texts me periodically to find out how I am doing.

So everything gets sorted. Me and this Iraqi guy who is going to Milan and has been waiting for as long as I have (about 2 hours) get processed by immigration who take our passports and hand us transit cards. I presume its so we don't run away and start working in Jordan. We get in the bus to the transit hotel which is free for people who have to wait overnight for their flights.

I get here check in, they take my transit card and say they will give it back when I return the key. I get to my room and promptly cannot open the door. Now I'm klutzy but not a 90lb weakling, and yes i'm not always coordinated but this was something else. apparently you have to turn the key in a certain way and push and pull. The floor housekeeping supervisor opens the door for me and I try to open it with him supervising to see if it works. It does not. He says, "Ok. Everytime you need to open the door, you call me."

I get into the room and it is decent. Like a 2 star hotel in Bangkok, not as trashy as the people in the airport forums described. In the bathroom the toilet has a strip of paper wrapped around the seat that says: "We have disinfected this for you". Thank you. I had to take a picture.

I have a cigarette (yes mom, i'm sorry but I was stressed) scream silently at my image in the mirror and breathe a sigh of relief for now.

Thank God I have english tv. Go CNN.

I go to the free dinner where, after swissotel, it was well, okay. A hit and miss dinner. The bread and the hummus were good, the steak was so hard I took one bite and chewed for a full on minute before giving up. The chicken was okay and the dessert was decent. I had this turkish delight-ish thing that was sweet. I have a sneaking suspicion it may be the same as this turkish dessert with chicken in it (yes, i know) that swissotel also serves.

In the hall to the dining room there are pictures of what at first glance, appears to be people in native costumes doing traditional things like weaving, pouring tea, sitting around and chatting, etc. Upon closer inspection I find out these are mannequins dressed up in traditional garb made to pose doing traditional things. They didn't even get people. The date of the pictures also says 2010.

I am now at the internet centre which costs 5 dollars an hour (so fuck that I'm staying for an hour) where the chatty iraqi guy that is moving to the US is also chatting online with matching webcam.

I hope to God I will no longer have anymore problems tomorrow and with my flight back to Sydney. I will call to confirm for sure when I get to Manila and I will not be doing anymore changes, thank you very much.

I have spent the last few days exploring Istanbul. I must admit tho that most of that time was spent eating and hanging out with my friend Duke. I am glad that I have got to see Istanbul from the point of view of someone who lives there, and see how regular life is like. I have of course gotten lost a few times in our neighborhood trying to find the tram, but not in such a way that I didn't know where I was so its been okay.

On Thursday I went to Sulthanamet, which is _the_ tourist area - apparently many tourists never leave this place - and I saw all the sights that I had to see.

This is one of the walls of the Aya/Haga Sofia. Formerly an Orthodox church built by Justinian in about the 9th century ish. When the Ottomans took over in around the 16th century they turned it into a mosque. It has the largest and most perfect dome in Europe. Unfortunately half the dome was under restoration when I was there so although I still took pictures, I've chosen this one instead. I must admit that while it was pretty I wasn't super duper impressed. I think I've seen enough ex mosque/church conversions, I think. It is pretty from the outside when contrasted with the skyline and its one of the icons of Istanbul.




This is me in the Blue Mosque, which I liked better than the other one because its prettier! It was built by Sultan Ahmet in an effort to make something better than the Aya Sofia. It was my first time to be inside a mosque - in other countries they don't let you in at all if you're not muslim - and I didn't have a headscarf so I wore a beanie. Its pretty inside and all the tiles are blue, hence the name.




This is my favorite place in all of Sulthanamet. This is a Byzantine Cistern located under the city. Its very Phantom of the Opera/Gringott's vault in Hogwarts.  There are even fish!  There are two famous pillars that have the head of medusa on each of them. One is upside down and one is sideways. People have yet to figure out why they are not upright. There is even a cafe underground. I felt a sense of tranquility and even a bit of enchantment down here, it is a lovely place to visit - if you're not claustrophobic!




This is the detail from one of the walls at Topkapi Palace. It was the palace used by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire. It would be like almost any other palace if not for:

a) all the fucking jewels that are so real they look fake. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds the size of your palm, etc. you are not allowed to take any pictures of them, hence they are not here. Half of them are gifts from neighboring kingdoms and the other half is stuff they sent to Mecca to go to Mohammed's tomb. When world war one broke out the people of Mecca sent them back, worried that they might get looted. I wonder why Turkey didn't send them back, I mean the war's been over for a while...

b) their collection of relics. now I know that back in the day everyone was obsessed with relics. I get that. What I don't get is how they knew that all this stuff was authentic. I mean, John the Baptist's hand in armour? And I don't know why there aren't people who are offended. They have on display, small cases with parts of Mohammed's beard, plus his footprint, almost like they do in Hollywood outside the Chinese Theatre style. Considering how highly they are regarded, I wonder if anyone has spoken out and said, hey how do you know they aren't real  OR hey this is desecration, they should be kept in a holy place. I don't know man, but relics kind of creep me out a bit.

c) the harem which was lovely, full of beautiful tiles and mosaics




Afterwards I met up with Duke and we went to Starbucks in Besiktas and you can write on their walls! So I wrote something hahaha.






On Friday we went to the Asian side. In 7 minutes I went from Europe to Asia! We walked around in one of the bazaars and then headed to the Mango Outlet where I almost bought a coat because it was red but stopped myself because it was a bit too peacoat for me.

On Saturday Duke & I went to have eat all you can at a Mongolian place. The waiter asked for our names. I said Maria and she said Ana. This is what it said on our tags:




That night we went to a special show at Naz, a Turkish restaurant. They had traditional turkish music, folk dancers from the Black Sea and belly dancers both female and male.

Here is the amazing (gay) male belly dancer showing off how flexible he is:





Today we went to House Cafe for Brunch. We shared eggs benedict, memere (turkish eggs with tomatoes, scrambled) and pancakes. Then we went to hang out at a cafe to play dama and have some shisha. In between that I went on a cruise down the Bosphorus. Here are some of the pictures I took:







When I got back they were still having some shisha. Even Baby A :)



After this we had a bit of merienda, sharing a Kumpir (baked potato with various toppings) and Gozelme (spinach cheese and mushroom) now we are home.

I didn't get to go to the Fenerbache vs Galatsaray game because there was only one ticket and although it was offered to me I refused to go alone! Not with a rivalry that is like, that is like the third most covered in the world (because of interest!) Fener - which is our team, in this house! - won 4-1. Yay! Turkish TV didn't even show it, so I will have to wait for a summary online.

Istanbul has a very interesting history. I have managed to find myself a book on Byzantium. I wish I still had my old book Lords of the Horizon by Jason Goodwin but someone borrowed it and didn't return it so will have to find another copy. That will cover the Ottoman Empire.

Tomorrow I think we are going to see a few towers with Duke's friend Myra and on Tuesday I hope I can finally get to a Hammam!

first i have to say turkish keyboards do not have the letter i in the regular place they have this: ı instead. It ıs not the same I and therefore i have fucked up enough passwords to lock a few accounts. İt took me quite a while to find the correct I.

got to cappadocia or kapadokya as it is spelled more or less in turkish at 8 in the morning which required me to get up at 415. İ am very thankful that Duke arranged everything so seriously I havent had to think much.

Wednesdays plan is to do the sulthanamet area and then topkapi palace and the archeologıcal museum later in the week. we may still do troy and gallipolli or actually am happy with just troy.

Today İ went to the Gozeme Open Air Museum and looked at all the churches that were built ınto caves with frescoes. Some of them were as old as the 2nd century. The stuff was so old u werent mostly allowed to take pıctures ınsıde!

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I wrote the first part last Monday. Its Wednesday now and I'm too tired to finish so just take a look at the pictures below.

When christianity first came to Turkey, through St Paul (not the apostle) it was still illegal and the christians were very much persecuted. To avoid this they lived in caves, where they carved out churches, monasteries and convents as well as housing. They also lived in several underground cities, and Turkish excavators continue to find new ones even in recent times.

Staying in a cave hotel is the in thing to do in Kapadokya but I stayed in an arch room at our hotel, and I am glad I did because it was quite cold.

Goreme Open Air Museum dates from the 2nd century to about the 12-13th.









This is one of the frescoes in the "dark church" named so because of the absence of light during the 12th ish centuries. Now however they have lit it up so you can actually take good pictures without the flash.




Dinner at the hotel - chicken shisha!





Underground City

This is the largest underground city in Kapadokya. We went underground for 8 floors, often stooping down to about halfway my height through narrow passageways. The first two floors were built by the Hittites ages ago to store arms, etc. and were rediscovered by the christians during their persecution in the early parts of the first millenium. They added to the city by building downwards. Apparently some of these underground cities were still in use till the 1920s





Walking through Ihlara Valley



yes, people did live up here


Selim Monastery - with another church built into a cliff




PS I'm really, really glad Obama won. I wore my Obama t-shirt to bed last night and prayed and hoped for the best.

I woke up at 1030 after a nice refreshing sleep. I am so happy to be staying at a friend's where I do not have to worry about which hostel I am staying in the next day. suncatcherph's husband works for a hotel so all their furniture is provided for. My bed is a hotel bed, and is so nice, yaaay.

Today we went to swissotel where her husband works and had a buffet brunch. I ate a lot. It was all good. Then we went for a walk for about 2 hours along the Bosphorus aka the Golden Horn which divides Istanbul into the European side (where we are) and the Asian side. Its really cool that I am standing in Europe and I get to look across the river and see Asia.

At the end of the walk we made it to Ortakoy, where there is a market every Sunday. We passed a palace, several hotels that are ex palaces, Galatsaray university, where they still teach in French and I got to see a lot of what everyday Istanbul is like. I got myself a nice ring, and one for Caro. I like Turkey so far.

Tomorrow I am off to Cappadocia overnight.

Here are some pictures.

Me at the Bosphorus



The Mosque



Glass stall at the Ortakoy Bazaar



The prince at lunch (this is baby A, my friend's son, he is the cutest ever)



Me, mosque in Ortakoy

Our last night in Cordoba we had amazing tapas at Salinas, which is apparently in the Michelin guide. it was a bit pricey for our standards but still at less than 20 euro each it was a good dinner. We had albondigas, which I enjoyed this time because it was not tomato-ey and then croquetas and anchovies ala white bait!

Our train to Madrid was late but because it didnt´show they let us board a later train that was an ave, or high speed train. Liz and I checked in to our hostel and we walked around Madrid and had churros at La Gines.

In the evening we went to a language exchange sponsored by couch surfing that they have every thursday nights in Bar Madrid which was around the corner from where we were staying. When you get there they write on a sticker what languages you can speak, you stick it on your shirt and then whoever wants to practice that language will come find you, or you can find a language you want to try.

My sticker said english and tagalog and this random guy approached me and went, my girlfriend and I were in El Nido and they were playing this most wonderful song called "anak" in this beautiful background. I am learning to play it on guitar and I know some of the lyrics. And he proceeded to sing, "at ang nanay at tatay mo di malaman ang gagawin minamasdan pati pagtulog mo!" How random was that.

Liz and I chatted with a bolivian dude and I got to practice some spanish before we went home.

The next day Liz went to the museum of reina sofia while I went to Santiago Bernabeau stadium and took the tour. You get to walk around all parts of the stadium, see the history of Real Madrid and all the trophies and random facts. For example I saw the first socio (members) card of the prince of spain, and it had pictures of him from when he was a baby to age 7. It said "Principe Felipe de Bourbon, residencia el palacio de bourbon". And they had old ID pictures of players when they first started, including David Beckham's, Zidane's, Iker's (he did not look like Iker) and even one of Sergio in braces bwahahaha. My slight Zidane obsession came out as I took pics of everything with Zidane on them.

Afterwards we got to walk on the pitch, sit in the VIP seats, sit where the coaches and the players sit, go through the player's tunnel and then see the press room and the locker room of the visiting team. (you are not allowed into the actual players locker room out of privacy...) Then they direct you to the merchandising, where I surprise, surprise did not buy anything. (It may have something to do with the fact that I bought a shirt the night before hahaha) The place is full of overmerchandising. They have kids stuff, kids seats - i swear the only thing missing is a kid's potty - and even espadrilles. WTF.

After that I met up with Liz and I tried to do a little shopping and find a dress to wear for Maui's wedding but I couldn't find one that I really liked. We ended up in FNAC for the 3rd day in a row and I bought a spanish book.

That evening we met up with Juan, a friend that we met through couch surfing and he took us to the tapas bars where the locals go at La Latina. The food was excellent. Then we ended up in a bar, where much to our surprise for the first time ever there were more men then women. Apparently this is normal in Spanish bars, though it never happens in Sydney. Liz and I could not get over the amazement of it being a sausagefest that it was our running joke for the night. We told Juan that he should go to sydney where there is a man drought, and we would move to Madrid for sausage, ha ha ha.

After the bar we went dancing in this club that played alternating good and cheesy music. They played thriller and followed it up with ghostbusters, wtf. But there were quite a few good tracks. For some reason they shut the bar at 3am which is not normal for Madrid so we went home.

I packed, took a shower and set my alarm for 730am. I got everything together, said bye to Liz and went to the airport. It was a relatively easy check in and although the flight was delayed by 30 minutes I got to Istanbul okay and am now safely esconed with Duke, Xave and Baby A who is cute as.

I will miss Spain very much, not because of the sausage, ha ha ha but because of the vibe. I really love that country and I will be back someday (soon I hope) for a longer period, although I know in the end I will most likely come back to Australia.

Yesterday we went to the Alcazar in Sevilla. It kind of reminded me of the Alhambra, but the Alhambra was prettier. I quite liked the history attached to the place tho. After that we went to the Plaza del Torros which was fascinating. I hope I can see a bull fight someday. I know there are a lot of people that are totally against it, but I find the whole culture that surrounds it very interesting. Liz and I had fun taking shots of her pretending to be a torrero with her red sweater.

Today we left Sevilla for Cordoba. Seriously Sevilla was pretty but the people werent so great. First day we got cheated in the cab and today we almost got fucked over by the bus. Everyone told us to go to San Sebastian station to get the 10am bus, and when we got there it turned out the 10am left from somewhere else so we missed it. Liz and I had to go to this internet station in a bar to print out the ticket to prove that it didnt say where we were meant to go (meaning we didnt mix up the stations) so she could argue with the bus counter dude. Thank God I am with someone who speaks spanish cos Liz argued and the guy let us get on the 11 am bus without having to pay extra.

Cordoba is beautiful. We saw the very charming mezquita, which was a former mosque converted into a church. It was great inside, a very nice mix of everything with amazing arches. It was like my photo opp dream come true with my favorite things: stained glass windows and arches! Throw in some buttresses and my architectural life would be complete, hahaha.

Liz and I decided to be cheap and share an audio guide so we would huddle together near all the sights and listen to öur friend" talk about things. Liz dropped our friend several times, which provided us with some funny moments. The other funniest moment was when we went to the courtyard of oranges and she decided she wanted an orange from the tree. Being the "taller" one I was meant to get it so I stood on this like ledge thing and had to jump to grab the orange. As most of you are aware my coordination is not the best, and of course I missed on all three tries. Liz took a picture of one attempt. In fairness I got pretty close. I think tho that its more of an amazement that I didnt trip and break anything hahahaha

After that we walked down the Jewish quarter and went to the spanish-jewish museum and the synagogue. Very interesting history. We walked through the small streets and I finally found an espana team jersey. They dont really make them anymore and they seem to only make them in Torres. I saw Villa once but it was 75 euro and I refused to pay that (Sevilla is really more expensive). I wish they made Iker shirts but apparently they dont unless I get a Real one which is kindov boring.

Our hostel is really nice. I like it.

Tonight we are off to eat then tomorrow back to Madrid!

My last day in Barcelona was spent eating this fantastic Menu del Dia (menu of the day, you get a fixed entre, main and dessert for a fixed price) which consisted of salad, mussels (jao ate them cos I don´t eat mussels), calamari that was so good even i ate it, seafood paella and crema catalana. After that we took a walk on the beach. Then Liz and I joined Hannah for dinner at this Basque taperia, which had excellent, excellent tapas.

Yesterday Liz and I arrived in Sevilla. We got cheated on the taxi. Liz tried to argue to no avail. I think he sped up the meter or something. Then I remembered to get the license and registration but by then he had driven away. That sucked.

Sevilla is beautiful but since we dont know anyone here we are sucked into the tourist trap crap and have had to pay quite a bit. Coming from 3 euro bocadillos that´s a bit of a shock for me! Today we need to find a place with a menu del dia, i swear.

The cathedral impressed me a lot, and that´s hard to do seeing as I´ve seen so many. Its quite beautiful inside. It was converted to a mosque when the moors invaded and then now its a church again so it has integrated architecture inside so that makes it extra pretty.

Liz and I also took a walk by the river. I have to go now cos some dude has to use the internet in the hostal!

I have been in Barcelona since Thursday. Sometime before that in Salamanca the weather suddenly turned to shit so when I got back to Madrid on Wednesday it was freezing. It was also very cold when I left for Barca. I arrived at about 530pm and hung out in the train station till Jao (Andee's sister who I am staying with) finished work. I am proud of myself because I bought my ticket from Cordoba to Madrid entirely in Spanish while waiting.

That evening we went out for tapas at Inopia, the restaurant that according to Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali has "the best tapas ever". While it was good, it wasn't spectacular. The patatas bravas were great, and I enjoyed the anchovies which were fried like the whitebait in Sydney. They even had real vinegar, unlike the balsamic vinegar they hand me when I ask for vinegar in the tapas bars in Sydney (I know that's weird). However, the sausage had yucky paksiw like sauce (I do not eat paksiw, which is a filipino dish) and i expectd to be blown over but I was not. Neither was Jao, who says the best tapas she's ever had is in this tiny bar in a tiny town outside Zaragoza. I guess you really have to go to random places. The chef that owns this restaurant is the same as the guy that runs El Bulli, so even if I don't ever get to go to El Bulli at least I can say I ate at one of his restaurants for less than half the price, I'm sure.

(El Bulli is this super special spanish restaurant that is booked years in advance that you can only accepts reservations for one day in October)

The next day I woke up late before meeting up with Liz who arrived from Lyon. We had bocadillos (sandwiches) for lunch and then we went to find the place she was staying in. Liz got the directions a bit mixed up so we ended up walking the entire length of Numancia (Think George St from Wynyard to Chinatown) before we finally found the place. Liz had a backpack and I had her other bag which had 3 books in it so we were pretty tired in the end. After that I went and got some stuff done at this parlor that is run by filipinos. It was quite cheap for Sydney standards and I got a cute pedicure. I felt like my hands and nails deserved it from Peru when my hands were so dry and I no longer feel gnarly after four weeks.

Yesterday I went to see Casa Batllo, this house that was designed by Gaudi. It is getting an album of its own! I took so many pictures because it was so beautiful, plus am sure Caro & Aliosha will want to see the architecture. Gaudi used elements of nature in all his work, he was far ahead of his time in environmental concepts. For instance he had a massive skylight installed in the centre courtyard and to maximize the light, the blue tiles on the walls lighten as you go lower and the windows get bigger to ensure there's proper lighting the lower you go. It was amazing.

( I also went to the Barca vs Almeria game )

Today we are going to LBC where I will have them ship my extra winter clothes to the Philippines. The bag also includes the 4 pairs of espadrilles I got for Miel's yaya (they were so cheap, its just that I don't wear espadrilles!) and some jamon for my mum. Also I got shitloads of spanish magazines to practice with. One of them even has the added bonus of an article with Iker in it! (Yay!)

Later on its off to see some other part of Barca I haven't seen yet. Maybe the beach and Tomorrow Liz and I are going to Sevilla.

Nick: Are you going to watch a football game in Barca?
Me: Yes.
Nick: Do you come to Spain just to watch the football?!?!
Me: Nooooo!!! (protests vehemently) I love Spain!
(thinks: although I do try to time my trips to make sure I can go to one!)

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There are places that I would like to try living in. There´s Madrid, London or Scotland and some part of South America for a while. I could also do Berlin or Prague. Hahaha, here´s hoping. (When I go somewhere I try to see if I think I could live there, even for just a bit and there are always places where I am like, nope. nope. nope.)

In the end tho, I think I will always come back to Sydney, as I love it there. And yes, when I´m old and grey I´ll probably live in Manila as well. Or in my beach house in Cebu, ha ha ha.

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On Saturday Jao & I are watching the football just because it is cheap!

Jao: there´s a game on saturday. but its...barca vs almeria
Me: Almeria!?!?
Jao: I know! Its so cheap 18 euro for general admission, I don´t think anyone is watching!
Me: hahaha ok let´s watch.

This entire conversation was in filipino. We´re getting like, front near the goal seats for 30 bucks. That never happens.

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I have been randomly just taking walks around Madrid, taking in the streets and the people and the vibe. I love it so. I do not know why this city calls to me so much, it just does.

Yesterday was the Real vs Atletico game.

Seriously, if you do not give a shit about futbol, you don´t have to read the part under the link which is very long as well.

( ¨Real )

Today I woke up at 12 noon, ha ha ha. Its a good thing lunch here is at 2pm. Nick and I went off to have lunch with her brother Liam, who is visiting from London with his spanish girlfriend whose name is Basque for Ocean (because her mom´s water broke in the ocean...) but whose name escapes me for the moment!

We ended up in La Latina, near the Rastro markets, which are famous for selling anything and everything on Sundays. I had a tostada with camembert and fig (excellent!) and some hummus. Tostadas are basically slices of toast with stuff on them.

Then we walked to Valor, an amazing chocolateria. Because it was 3pm they would not serve us churros (kat, are you reading this?!?!?). they only start serving churros at 430. So instead, I had profiteroles and this lovely thick chocolate drink. Yaaay.

Then we went home, and I skyped with Liz and we finally sorted out our Andalucia trip, yay! I then went for a walk in the evening and got myself another bocadillo with chorizo. Tomorrow - i should say later - its off to Toledo