Sangreetings from Madrid

Viva la España!

Well readers, I have returned from yet another successful European adventure... Spain! Friday morning (at 5am to be exact), my 7 friends and I left for Madrid. Once arriving, the grogginess of travel and lack of sleep quickly shrank into oblivion. We were in Spain... and it was beautiful.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by a warm spanish sun, cool crisp air, and streets crowded with locals. Lauren, Beth and I chose a hostel separate from the other 5 girls, so we parted ways in the airport and sought out to find "The Analina Rooms Hostel" near the Puerta del Sol. AMAZING LOCATION. AMAZING HOSTEL. Things were looking good.

Once we got exploring, we realized our stomachs were aching for some grub. Unfortunately, the meal we stumbled upon wasn't the least bit grubby.

Somehow I managed to force it down though...

Chicken curry fajitas with chips and guacamole. HOLLLERRR

After collecting our energy at the charming little restaurant (which didn't seem to excited to host a collection of American girls stumbling over broken Spanish)... we headed out to conquer the rest of the Peurta del Sol region.

And suddenly. Things got a little sweet and nasty.

First I'll hit you with the sweet:

Now, I'm not exactly a candy person... but this assortment of spanish candy was out-of-this-world. After tasting a few types, I don't think I can pick my favorite. So I guess I'll have to do another taste-testing the next time I'm back in Spain...

Now I'll hit you with the nasty. Grandma, shield your eyes!

In an area splattered with cute restaurants and boutiques... this shop seemed a little bit out of place. But being the curious young girls we are, Lauren, Beth and I couldn't help but poke our heads in. Once entering... we promptly poked our heads back out. Not exactly a family-friendly store folks. Take note.

After a naughty and nice afternoon, we needed to relax over a jug of sangria. And so, we searched for the perfect restaurant. Suddenly, we saw the name "Museo de Jamon" (one of the restaurants my friend had suggested I visit if in Madrid)... so we wandered on in.

The. Place. Was. Packed.

Utilizing our savvy American skills, we finagled our way to a table right in the center of the dining action. The walls of the restaurant were covered with hanging meats, but the ambiance was more exciting that disgusting... even though dried pork isn't exactly my wall decor of choice.

Overwhelmed, we glanced at our menus praying for English translations. We weren't so lucky.

We did however get pictures next to each meal option... even better. When the waiter came over I pointed to a picture that looked good and cheap... And it was!

Wasn't thrilled about the fact that this fish was bony through and through,

but hey... that place was busy... guess the chef had bigger fish to fry!

SANGRIA also graced our table...

Briefly.

We finished our meal around 9:30pm (actually a very early dinner for the locals!) and wandered back to our hostel. Nightlife didn't start in Madrid until 2am!! What were we supposed to do?

Siesta!!!!!!!!!!! zzzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzz

Siesta: Where you snooze, you win.

Several hours later, we were ready to dance. So where did we go? Kapital. Undoubtedly the craziest nightlife I have experience. Thus far. (Amsterdam still awaits as a travel destination...)

A PACKED dancefloor at 2:15am. Half naked dancers. Oh yea, and a rope dancer...

Yea sure, typical Friday night...

So what do you do in a packed nightclub with circus acts, flashing lights, and stripper poles? YOU DANCE! In the most tasteful way possible Daddy :)

Lauren and I strut the American moves...

And then pass out a half hour later.

Listen, I know, I know. "When in Rome... do like the Romans do." Except:

1) We weren't in Rome.

2) We had woke up at 5am for our flight. We couldn't stay up until 7am like the locals!

SO, by 3am we headed back to the hostel... ready for the beddy. Next thing we knew, it was 1:30pm and we had slept the day away. Good thing Madrid likes to start off the day late!

We decided to wander the city and find the Royal Palace...

and found the spectacular Retiro Park on our way.

Turns out they had boats for wanderers to ride.

So of course...

we rocked the boat. Baby.

(Pre-rocking the boat)

Some other things we stumbled upon during our delightful agenda- free afternoon:

A mariachi band... AYE AYE AYE!!

A pub... Ireland was following us...

A store with its OWN PERSONAL DJ... can I get a woo woo?

A man on the street who spontaneously sprouted out of

a table to petrify... me.

And stores with super cool bracelets. Beth and I got HOOKED UP:

Flashforward. It's 10pm... do you know where your children are?

Well, we were in Madrid. And we were hungry.

So we wandered the seductive streets of Madrid

to find a location with Tapas. TAPAS TAPAS TAPAS

Can you feel the romance? The air was thick with seduction. Rawrrr...

An hour later...

We find a restaurant that meets our expectations.

Cheap, beautiful, tasty-looking...

and LOADED WITH LOCALS

(key sign as to whether the food is authentically-awesome or not)

What we're eating: Manchego cheese, olives stuffed with anchovies, fresh bread, salad with tuna, onion and tomatoes, fries with scrambled eggs... and then some.

I bet you can't TAPAS that!

(Get it? Top that...)

The only problem was that the napkins were pieces of wax paper.

Tapas makes for messy fingers. And wax paper makes for terrible napkins.

BAD COMBO!!

Luckily. I got over it. Quickly.

That meal was SENSATIONAL.

Until next time,

xxx SAM!

Toxic Tuesday (Boozeday)

Toto, we are most definitely not in Kansas anymore.

This - school - has - a - pub. On campus. Last night, I experienced one of the many marvels of the Irish schooling system. For example, in Ireland, it's acceptable to have a student pub. And, one that's adjacent to my dorm building.

Now that the true DCU (Dublin City University) students are back on campus (us international folks have been taking classes 2 weeks prior to their arrival to warm up to the campus) things are getting loco here. Hallways are crowded, classrooms and loaded, and the campus pub, is... well... awesome.

From yesterday onward, the pub now hosts a "Toxic Tuesday" where the pub is open to students until 2am. I know, I know what you're thinking. A pub available to students... on a school night?!

Yes Mom and Dad. Yes, it is.

And so, my floor-mates and I hopped on over to the pub to see what it was all about. And apparently, it was all about a paint party. Little did we know, the pub was having its annual PAINT SLASHING CRASHING DASHING party, in which every student brave enough to enter would promptly be soaked.

AWESOME.

Covered in blue paint: but I ain't feeling blue!

When I first got pummeled by paint, I wasn't exactly the happiest of campers. But after seeing my friends get equally soaked alongside my new Irish friends, I just gulped my beer and went with the flow.

After a very very late evening, I finally went to bed. And then, promptly woke up for my 10am class. Don't worry guys-- I am a professional.

First class was shortened for the day, which was good for me and my unbrushed hair, and our second class was replaced with a field trip to the show, "The Field."

I definitely didn't fall asleep during the show. Nope. Not me. definitely not.

But, the theater was beautiful!

And for the record all, my academic-ness is not taking a vacation. What am I doing immediately following this blog post? Homework. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST FOLKS. Homework.

PS. Anyone know how to remove paint from my white sweater? I don't think Guinness really cures every problem...

American Wench Speaks French...

Les croissants Les croissants Les croissants Les croissants

I'm back!! Just got back from a fantastic 48-hour Paris expedition, and let me tell you... it was crazy. For starters, no one filled me in about the driving situation is Paris. Road lines should be mandatory, no matter how good your cheese is. Thus, I spent several taxi rides fearing for my life, as cars aimlessly spun past the Arc De Triumph. Holy Cannoli. Rather, holy crepe... (and believe me, I'll get to those in a second).

But rather than spending the entire cab ride hyperventilating, I figured I'd give you all a taste of the cab-seat scenery.

Voila:

This photo doesn't quite capture the madness of the driving situation,

but friends and fam, let me put things into perspective. You think I'm a

terrible driver? Multiply my lack of driving skills by 100. Exactly.

But let's begin with the most important facts about France. Food and Fashion.

Our first meal in Paris was an enormous collection of all the deliciousness one must try when experiencing Paris. Lauren, Beth and I loaded up on a cheese omelette, a croissant, hot chocolate, orange juice... and pretty much everything but the kitchen sink.

Speaking of sink... the sink in our hotel bathroom:

Once we gathered our energy, we sought out to conquer the Champs-Élysées. And boy, did we do some damage! Okay, well not quite. But I'm officially a master window shopper.

For JUST 800 euro, these bad boys could have been mine. Thanks, but I think I'll go barefoot.

But don't worry. I ALSO experienced the many glorious sights of Paris, beyond the shopping:

The Eiffel Tower...

The Arc de Triumph...

The Mona Lisa (my homegirl)...

And of course, our LUXURY HOTEL (big thanks Lauren!)

But let's not leave out our hotel room view:

After an exhausting day of walking, walking and more walking... we decided to go out for a relaxing dinner for Lauren's 21st birthday, and then celebrate even more with the burlesque show:

Lido!! http://www.lido.fr/

Wining and dining at restaurant Chez Clement...

My dish:

(It was the chef's special. Eggs and smoked duck. Not sure I'm going to be this adventurous with my meal selections in the future...)

And the the fabulous, sexy, scandalous, marvelous, lights flashing, girls twisting, men jumping, horses hopping show... LIDO! (seriously, if you're ever in Paris. Go. To. This. Show.)

(I snuck a quick pic... naughty me!)

After an action packed Saturday, our plan to wake up Sunday at 8:30 am caved. We snoozed the alarm a few too many, and ended up sleeping in until 11am. But we threw our things together, and ran outside to greet the day as quickly as possible. Only, we ended up greeting the afternoon instead. Whoooops!

We made our way over to the Latin Quarter, and found ourselves amidst crepes. LOTS OF THEM. I was on cloud 900. With mouths watering, we each ordered an egg and cheese crepe. It was the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. No Joke. This was some serious fromage.

As if the concoction wasn't decadent enough, the pound of cheese topped onto the thin pancake was coated with wads of butter. Wowzer, Paris does it UP. And yet, their cholesterol is low. What's their secret?!

But amongst the delicious crepes, cakes, sandwiches and pizzas... there were some questionable brunch options:

Can't really explain what this is. But I'm guessing heartburn medication is a key ingredient.

Well, that's all for now. Au revoir!!

xx

Hungary for Turkey? Go to Ireland.

Enough is enough. Ireland does not have horrible food. Yes, I'm a bit biased considering I've been here for roughly 2 weeks, and the country is now very close to my heart... but I'm also a foodie. That means, I know good food. As a result, I have decided to give you a virtual tour of the delectable diet of Ireland. Potatoes, move aside. We've got bigger spuds to fry.

Let me ease you into Ireland. Let's start with my self-made American dinner, assembled with the freshest of Irish ingredients.

Couscous with garlic and salt:

Ground turkey with canned tomatoes, beans and spicy seasonings...

(okay, so maybe canned ingredients aren't the FRESHEST of choice. But, moving on)

VOILA! A delicious turkey chili. All thanks to the Irish grocery selection.

Grandma and Aunt Bertha, please note: I had your chili

on the mind when preparing this dish!

And if you don't believe that this was yummy... look how much Lauren digs it.

Beth getting camera shy...

But then suddenly being overwhelmed by a LOVE FOR MY CHILI!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lauren meant to give a thumbs up...

And Sarah clearly wanted to be recognized in the blog...

Love you Sarah! (Unfortunately, Sarah's vegetarian-ness made the dish off limits

for her... next time I'll attempt a vege-chili. We'll see about tofu in the market)

And now... the street foods of Ireland!

Yea. I know. And you thought they only served Guinness and chips.

But wait. There's more...?!?! You bet there is.

But enough street food. Hit me with the restaurants.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yea.

Take that skeptics. Drop the question mark, and pick up a fork.

Best. Night. Of. My. Life.

Pinch me. Tonight, the unthinkable happened. I actually brought my SLAM to Ireland.

After A LOT of googling, I found a small pub that had an open mic night for comedians, singers and poets. I gave them a quick ring around 7pm and they informed me that I was more than welcome to join their set list for TONIGHT, which was set to start at 9:30pm. Nervously and excitedly, I dragged my bum (and Lauren and Beth's as well) out of DCU and into the city. I was about to hit the crowd with some SLAM... (fun fact... no one in Ireland knows what SLAM poetry is... I learned that out the hard way)

After a jittery bus ride, and 4 tourists who gave us the completely wrong directions, we arrived at: THE BATTLE OF THE AXE at Ha’ penny Bridge Inn... a comfy little pub which an easy-going crowd. Things were looking good.

want more info? -----> http://www.battleoftheaxe.com/#Thursmcs

It took me a while to find ya, but well worth the search!

When we walked inside, I was a bit perplexed to find a lot of people drinking beer, but no stage area. Then after some investigation, I realized that the open mic night was on the second floor... phew. That got me worried.

When we walked into the correct room, this is what we found:

Telling you that I was nervous would be an understatement.

2 hours into the show, my heart was pounding. I could hardly focus knowing that my act was coming up. Would I forget a line? Would they even get the American jokes? I was a wreck.

Luckily... my Bulmers Hard Cider gave be a smidgen of liquid courage. Just a smidgen. (Man, smidgen is a great word. Say it. Say it right now. I know you want to. Smiiiiiiiidgen.)

You're on candid camera...

An example of past entertainment at the Battleoftheaxe open mic...

And the moment that changed my life forever:

**FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY**

After a 6 minute rhyming throw-down on stage, I was finished and reclaimed my seat in the audience... and exhaled. I had done it! AND the crowd was super receptive and friendly -- Ireland rocks!

I sat through the rest of the show, laughing hysterically at the comedians and pleasantly serenaded by the singers. Then finally, the show was over. It was time to choose a Battle of the axe winner. Drum roll please...

I WON?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The coolest thing that has happened to me! EVER. Gahhhhhh... and I won a rubber duck. So legit.

Updates shall follow soon!

And remember...

why close a door, when you can SLAM it? ~ Sam