Day 47: I Saw Dead People (Pompeii)

Day 47: I saw dead people (Pompeii)

Up at 9:20 for the free hostel breakfast and on our way by 10:30. It wasn't as clean a trek to Pompeii as we envisioned- just one of those classic "just missed this tram, this train, etc"- but we did make it and although I lost more water body weight sweating than hot yoga we had fun waiting on transportation and chatting with a new friend.

Ryan and I met a really nice pleasant young lady Claire in our hostel room. She's a geography teacher for 11-18 year olds back in Brighton, UK. She was interested in doing Pompeii to the max too which was cool. She brought to my attention the fact you can do more than see the affected town of Pompeii but actually venture up the still active beast of nature and go in its crater. Sure it costed 20€ more but for me, it was just like when else am I going to find myself in Naples, Italy, especially Pompeii? Might as well go up the volcano and in the crater in addition to seeing the affected village. I also had a buddy to do it with because Ryan wasn't down for the additional traveler splurge. It was an added bonus that my new British friend Ms. Power was knowledgable on the history of Mount V / Pompeii so I ended up with a top notch tour.

When traveling with a friend it's not necessary to be attached at the hip at all times and thats fine. It doesnt mean you're not compatible or anything it's just wanting a different thing here and there. it's important that if there's something you want to do to make it happen and not let the other's lack of interest prevent you from doing it. Traveling is a unique and special opportunity to have new experiences, see new places, meet new people and reflect (often overlooked). It's an opportunity to do things you can't do everyday.

Thanks to a book i read as a 6 year old, I remember being beyond fascinated with the volcano eruption that disrupted Pompeii back in 79AD all my life and it was great getting to put a real life image to something I've only read about and imagined. Here's the pictures from the day

Had a great pizza dinner again with Ryan and Claire and off to Rome early tomorrow to meet up with the little sis Rachel- excited to be a part of her first time in Europe!

Day 44-46: Skrill dropped it hard

The past few days of my life have been passed in Ibiza, an interesting place Labeled the party island of the world. Here you can find world famous producers/djs spinning any night of the week- from Tiesto on Monday to Skrillex on Tuesday to Swedish House Madia on Wednesday to David Guetta on Thursday etc.

The top 3 highlights of the few days (in no specific order)
1) Skrillex / Annie Mac at Amnesia
2) Yes! Ibiza boat party
3) pregame real talk/thoughts with watts on our balcony

Skrillex- just a great hyped energy and fun dub step drops. Learned a lot about him and the composition of his songs in the Beat Making Lab I took last semester so it was cool seeing this 5'3 little dude just rock the house in Ibiza. Annie Mac- didn't really know of her beforehand but she was killin' it and I look forward to investigating her music more next time I'm bored.

Boat party- incredible. Great chill electro music from 5-10pm with nice swims, dinner and all you can drink beer/sangria/wine (I only had 2 drinks ;). We got to see the Ibiza sunset (one of the best in the world) and yes we rocked the party shirts for it.

Balcony talks- just great conversations about college, the present, and the future.

The last night was cool- we saw Fatboy Slim and Laidback Luke rock the preparty at Cafe Mambo for free. Fatboy, who's 48 yrs old by the way, was sporting the party shirt.

Apologies for the lack of bloggage the past few days while here- our hostel/apartment place lacked WiFi (so I had to connect to the cafe next door but was minimally using it).

We made it safely to Italy today. Had a dank pizza for dinner. Pompeii and a beach tomorrow.

Day 42-43: water to sound waves

After a decent night rest in Olga's Place hostel (although my 4 alarm snoozes lead me to believe there was more sleep to be had), i got up yesterday morning to catch some waves at the go to surfing beach in San Sebastian that was conveniently located a 2 minute walk from the hostel. I rented a board for an hour to make sure I remembered what I learned a month plus back in Costa Rica. The water was a cool 70 but it was refreshing getting out there again, and getting some real physical activity for the first time in a while.

Great start to the day but it was a hustle getting from hostel to bus station to Bilbao to airport to Ibiza's airport to San Antoni, Ibiza to hostel. While it is easy to get caught up in spending lots of doll hairs in Ibiza, we decided were going to do it with a reasonable budget in mind (some apartment-cooked meals, a couple not-club nights, etc) and its off to a great, fun start. We made dinner in our private appt, had a couple beverages on our balcony and went out to bars last night where Ryan convinced a bunch of non-Americans we were stars from One Tree Hill. Today we slept in (whats new) and made it to the beach a bit. We have a salad, chicken, pasta and broccoli on deck for dinner and Skrillex to attend to this evening in Club Amnesia. Mustache you to have a look at our balsamic/cucumber appetizer layout here.

Day 39-41: Spain Reflection, Ibiza tomorrow

Is it too late for me to study abroad in Salamanca? Maybe so because I'm now graduated but I remember considering staying abroad for another semester after Madrid to further improve my Spanish, and enjoy the easygoing, yet fun lifestyle in the Chapel Hill/ college town of Spain. While it would have been incredible to extend my stay, I'm happy I decided to come back to UNC because I ended up having a great semester getting back into things, building new/old friendships, taking on my major switch from business to econ and int'l studies after being away for a full year (Duke one semester, Madrid the next), and playing hockey again. It's crazy though to think how different things can turn out given the decisions you make. I feel like I couldn't go wrong with this one but still, things could have turned out very different otherwise. it's one of the reasons why my approach has always been to make the most of every situation you end up in (it might be the best, might be the worst).

Anyway, Salamanca was great. We have both done the touristy things there so we basically repeated the procedure of sleeping in, eating lunch, siesta'ing, going for tapas and enjoying the vibrant nightlife of the small city.

Post-Ibiza Italy with Ryan and my sister Rachel will be the time for the more go-go-go traveling, with plenty of unseen sights and great eating to do.

Cut the train super close today but we're in San Sebastian now, where Ryan and I just watched Spain own Italy in the Euro2012 finals. What a great experience viewing the match in the victorious country. 1st half with the hostel owner, 2nd half at a bar. We could go out and celebrate with the country but a rest before 4 nights in Ibiza (starting tmrw) is getting prioritized. Plus, I want to wake up a little early to go surfing before we have to bus it to the Bilbao airport, see if I still got it from Costa Rica

Pics of Salamanca's Plaza Mayor lit up last night in prep for the big match and Ryan and I at a fun bar in town.

Day 37-38: Spain advances, questionable hostel

Yesterday was all about recharging batteries- my iPhone literally, but also my body by sleeping in and siesta'ing later on. I got my laundry done for a reasonable price at a local spot. Madrid has a lot to offer as a city, and for visitors in terms of activities, museums, etc. but I've done all these things while abroad in Fall 2010. This return trip was more about the food (tapas), lifestyle, fiestas, and getting some spanish practice in when possible.

Fortunately my trip landed me here during the Euro2012 semifinals soccer/futbol match, with Spain playing their neighbor/ rival Portugal. Flat score led it into not 1 or 2 overtimes but a shoot-out with La Roja coming out on top. This game was a big deal. It's hard to explain- kind of like if the NCAA March Madness Final 4 only happened once every four years and everyone around you was cheering for the same team. But soccer IS the sport of Spain/ most of Europe so maybe it's like that but the upcoming finals is like the Super Bowl on steroids. Needless to say, big games being played and it's cool to be able to feel apart of Spain during them.

Couldn't help but think about Spain in a larger context- you have a country completely united one night through a game, and on strike the next day due to tough unemployment/ economic times. Food for thought on the importance of sports in society.

Missed the blog yesterday for obvious reasons (there was celebrating to be done and a personal favorite Wednesday night spot to attend to called Orange Cafe) but today we bussed to Salamanca, a Spanish college town where Ryan studied abroad. I visited a weekend while in Madrid and it was awesome, so here we are. Beautiful town, some pictures attached.

Oh and I left Ryan in charge of booking our hostel for here because he knew the area. Great location but questionable entrance (see pic) and we are actually the only ones staying here. Actually alright because He got us a double bed room (one double bed not two beds buddy) so she switched us to a room with 2 twins.

Day 36- Siestas & fiestas, great being back in Spain

Getting to Madrid wasn't as pristine as I would have liked. With my alarm set for 8am, I was at the bus stop in Dubrovnik at 830am waiting on the 2x an hour bus to the airport (costing about $6 US). 45 minutes later the bus was still a-wall. With my flight at 1030 i had to make moves. Yay for $35 cab alternatives.

I get there, get through security too smoothly (didnt take my toiletries nor iPad out of my bag and it got through no problem), and hop on the plane pumped for a 2.5 hr nap before arriving in Madrid. Then it hits me. I'm way too excited to return to my study abroad destination, a place I fell in love with but haven't returned since, and to meet up with my friend. I could barely keep my body still nor eyes closed let alone get any sleep. 50 songs later (Jack Johnson, Cris Cab, Jimmy Buffett, and eventually Jay-Z, David Guetta once i realized sleep was out of the option) I arrived and made my way to the "Way" hostel (what it's called) smoothly.

So far I've done Madrid, Spain pretty alright- rode the metro, ate a big lunch, had a siesta, went for a dinner of tapas and am now off to fiesta. Todo bien en Espana.

Pic of Watts and I going JAMON (ham).

Day 30-35: Driving boats and things

Didn't blog the past few days but basically I've been in Hvar, Croatia loving life. Not skydiving or Surfing or getting bar mitzvah'd. Just chillin' at beaches, going out to island/port bars/clubs at night. I did rent a boat with 4 English girls and cruised Around with them all Friday. And I guess I did that Saturday as well, just with a different 6 young ladies who needed a captain (no experience whatsoever driving boats but stepped up to the occasion). So much fun cruising around islands and down pretty coasts. A lot of Pictures will be hittin' the book (Facebook) soon, once those with real cameras return home from their travels.

The original day 1 crew all became great friends instantaneously and ended up staying close throughout our time In Hvar. Trip ended with us 5 at a nice seafood / sunset dinner and a fun night out with the hostel crew. Would have posted pic with them on the boat but the girl taking the snap didn't realize my iPhone was on selfie mode so yea it was just a pic of her focused taking the picture (haha). There is one below though of Captain Kenny correctly caught on the celly from day 2.

Hvar, Croatia was basically a vacation within traveling- beach/chill all day , party all night, it was alright. I loved it. If Spanish was the native language, it might be my new top spot. I'd move there. I was going to island hop but decided to just post up for 6 days, 5 nights because it's incredible here and I met some really cool travelers, sweet hostel, etc. The hostel had an outdoor shower which made it even better (evidence below). original plan was to remix Champagne Showers by LMFAO to Outdoor Showers but never quite happened.

That's the fun thing about traveling like I've been lately. You never know what you're going to get into, who you'll meet nor what will come from it.

I could have just as easily remained at my other hostel, or switched to another one and had a completely different experience not knowing what it would have been like if I followed a different Croatian cobblestone path when looking for the magical hostel I ended up finding.

I ended up having an amazing time, can't help but smile as I write this, forming new, great friendships with the british girls (that will continue in London during the Olympics), Felipe from Chile (cool guy / great connect / place to stay and see the real Chile with when I take on South America in a couple years), and a fellow American college kid (UT-Austin) who i was able to pass travel knowledge on to as he just started his first-ever trip by himself. And I came away with potential business ideas by simply observing and being aware of the ways in which people travel that I'm not going to share on the blog because they're obviously worth millions.

I'm now in Dubrovnik for a couple nights, leaving tomorrow morning to meet up with my boy from UNC, Ryan watts himself, in Spain to revisit our respective study abroad spots- Madrid, Salamanca. Then we're heading up to northern Spain, vasque country to check out Bilbao and San Sebastian before heading to Ibiza!

I was going to go cliff jumping (into the sea) today but I really wanted to enjoy some sangria and tapas with Ryan (and my long lost Spanish amiga Ade) in Spain tomorrow so I passed on the activity. Instead I just went to a nice resort pool/ beach i probably wasn't allowed at and chilled out. Pretty stuff over here.