Something for the People - Halfway Point

Wow! It took me fifteen days to get out of my slump and say “Hello” to my faithful readers. Please forgive my tardiness. Finals (for classes) come around every semester and it would help if I could get use to them by now. One day … One day!

Besos to you!

Pues – A lot has come and gone in those fifteen days.

For starters, I have finished with this semester's course load. {Blows horn and wipes forehead} Thankful to be here in Spain to study, but finials can be rough. Also, ALL of mis amigas that I've met this semester through my program have left. That’s right, they have returned to their lives back in the States while I remain here. Even my two best chicas that I clicked with the most. Now, whom am I going to eat sushi with? Who am I going to go the movies with to watch new releases eat popcorn and drink coke with? Who am I going to explore with, ahora? This thought has put me in a bit of a sad mood so on that note … next subject.

I am excited to say that I have two new cities to cross off my list. Lisbon and London. I visited Lisbon, Portugal the first weekend in December and had an absolutely amazing time. I met up with six other ladies (all from different countries – the UK, France, Italy, Germany) and we rented a beautiful apartment. Stay tuned for my blog post on “Ladies in Lisbon.” This past weekend I had the opportunity to have a four-day vaca in London. Unfortunately, due to sickness, I was not able to enjoy the city as much as I’d hoped. But I will also post my experience on that soon as well.

  

Ahora – I have very exciting visitors flying in tomorrow morning. My mother and family friend have decided to spend the Christmas holiday with me. How sweet, right? I rented a two-bedroom apartment for the month of December to accommodate them. Although I want to show them around Barcelona, we will only be in town five days out of the eleven of their visit. We are flying to Madrid this weekend and then flying to Rome a day after our return. There, we will be spending our Christmas. How awesome is that? When in Rome… {Giggles}

I guess I better continue preparing for my guest. Have to wake early to greet them at the airport. Thank you for reading.

Travel 

Keep dreaming, stay inspired, and be blessed.

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Czech out Prague

Flying into Prague (Praha, Czech Republic) I didn’t know what to expect. I arrived at the airport and was unaware that I needed to exchange my euro for crown. Just as I was starting to wrap my head around the euro. {Ba-humbug} For every 1 euro the conversation to crown Czech is 27.37 – and for every 1 dollar (for all you who are wondering back home) the conversion is 20.12 crown Czech. I thought I was rich taking 2,000 crowns out of the ATM. I learned quickly that my average meal cost me around 200 crowns and a good souvenir runs 450 crowns. 2,000 crowns go down the drain pretty darn quick.  

Really?!?!

Any who - the show must go on!

My traveling companions decided to stay in a hostel that weekend. I guess I had no choice, as I was out numbered. I didn’t want to be the only one staying at the Embassy Suites {Giggles - a joke – kind of}

My first REAL hostel stay and to my surprise it wasn’t what I expected. It was situated in a great area, clean, homey, and the staff was phenomenal!

The fully equipped kitchen was a shared space. We were free to cook and store things bought in the fridge and cabinets. Oh – and the staff cooked  free dinner for their guest every night.

They staff was extremely friendly. They have a list of activities posted every night of the week for their guest to enjoy. They also come along with you for a night on the town.

The ladies and I stayed in a mixed 10-person room. We occupied six beds - leaving four beds to individuals we didn’t know (male and female).

I was grateful for individual lockers that we were able use. I brought my own personal lock to use just for that.  

And for our convenience we were able to check in to our departure flight with a small computer area. The hostel provided us with free Wi-Fi throughout the entire hostel, which was an added bonus. They won brownie points from me, I’ll say.

The shower area was quite interesting, but satisfying. Of course, that too was shared between male and female. I actually took note because I witnessed the staff several times a day come clean the area – including mopping. That small detail is important because in a hostel stay there are several people using the same showers – BAREFOOT! Even though I witnessed the mopping, I still wore my handy dandy, old navy flip flops to shower. {Giggles} Those babies are a lifesaver.

However, I did feel comfortable enough to use the bathing area. 

We toured around the city all day and got a nice feel for Prague.

We also traveled (one hour bus ride) to the small town of Terezín. Terezín is city that was assigned to “ghettos” and concentration camps during World War II. We visited museums and an actually concentration camp used during that time. I kind of didn’t know how to feel at first, being right there in the history.

Terezín held primarily Jews from Czechoslovakia, as well as tens of thousands of Jews deported chiefly from Germany and Austria, as well as hundreds from the Netherlands and Denmark. More than 150,000 Jews were sent there, including 15,000 children.

 

When I first learned of the Holocaust in the 7^th grade I felt such sympathy. But standing there on the soil put me at a lost for words. Mis chicas shared the same emotions as I.

After being stranded out in the cold in Terezín for an hour … back to Prague we went.

I also got to experience my first fish pedicure in Prague.

These Garra rufa fish (Doctor fish) are originally from Turkey and have now integrated as a spa treatment. They feed on the dead skin of your feet {yuk, right?!?} We asked the worker if people also use them to bathe in … and she said in Turkey – yes! I couldn’t imagine having fish sucking at my whole body. It was ticklish enough that were nibbling at me feet.

The city of Prague was historical, the food was magical, and the shopping was phenomenal. To see more pictures of my weekend trip in Praha visit my Facebook Page Voyage avec Antoinette. I didn’t spend much time shopping as I would have liked to so I would love to visit for one day just for that sole reason. Until then …

Keep dreaming, stay inspired and be blessed.

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