Thursday, January 17, 2008

welcome back to america

what a wake up call. everything that happened on my trip back to america has pointed me into the opposite direction. first i took a taxi to the charles de gaulle airport. i got the one taxi driver who didn't accept cards. so i had to run into the airport and pull out cash in order to pay him. then he yelled at me for making him wait. then i went back into the airport. whoops wrong terminal. so i had to take a tram to the correct terminal which was a 5 minute tram ride (which wasn't too bad), and a 1/2-3/4 mile walk to the right area. then to collect my tax free, i asked the lady at security where i can do that, she said its past security. went through security and customs, which the customs in france is very very friendly. the guy who helped me told me i was beautiful, which i was very flattered since i had gotten no sleep because of going out till 8am when my flight took off at 12:40pm (i allowed myself just enough time to go back, shower, get my stuff, and get myself to the airport). so after i went through security, i went to the tax refund place. once i got there the girl working told me i needed to go back to customs where i can get my receipts stamped. so i got the run around and had to go back through security, once i got back, the tax free office was closed. so i didn't even receive any cash back. then my plane started boarding, not allowing me to get anything to eat for today. the plane ride wasn't so bad. i had an entire row of seats to myself on a very large plane, but i was surrounded by kids that were very excited about flying. shit.

getting off in houston i had to go through customs again. then as i was picking up my luggage, a customs agent comes over to me and asks to see what was in my bags. asks me all of these questions about what i purchased. maybe it was because i look like trouble compared to all the others at the airport. maybe its because i was the only asian in the airport and the side of my hair is shaved. i told him that my flight was taking off pretty soon, so he proceeds to go through all of my stuff. i was so annoyed, kind of felt violated. he ended up adding all of my receipts and charges me $77 for miscalculating how much stuff i had purchased. he didn't even explain to me what was going on. i asked the other guy who was charging my credit card why i was paying more taxes when i had already paid taxes for my purchases. he told me i need to just sign before any questions are answered. then he tells another guy to explain to me what was going on. these guys were the biggest dicks ever. getting on the plane back to san diego i got into my seat. i have an inflatable pillow that i take with me and i put it on the top of my seat just so i can get settled in, and this guy behind me asks if i can move it. wtf. it wasn't even in his way. and i wasn't even going to keep it there. can somebody just send me back to france? i hate people.

welcome home. what a perfect way to end my trip.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

sadness

today is my last day in europe. i'm going to the musee d orsay. shopping shopping and more shopping. sadness. i prolly will go out again till i have my flight to catch. =(

i do look forward to seeing my friends and family.

Monday, January 14, 2008

guide to losing sleep

-book your flight for 11am
-go out until 8am
-go back to place of shelter just in time to pack up
-grab taxi at 9am to make it to the airport just in time for flight

Sunday, January 13, 2008

guide to sleeping the day away

refer to instructions from "guide to missing your flight".

-rinse and repeat.
-wake up at 5:30 pm

Saturday, January 12, 2008

guide to missing your flight

-first get kicked out of hotel room
-second book your flight for 6am on a sunday morning
-third stay with grace who parties like a rockstar
-fourth let her convince you to stay another night
-fifth go to multiple bars
-sixth stay out till 7:30am on sunday morning

guide to getting kicked out of hotel rooms

- wait until last possible minute to book hotel.
-perhaps as you are getting onto the airplane to destination(barcelona).
-take improper count of days staying in said destination.
-hotel was booked for 4 nights.
-travel time in destination was 1/08/08-1/13/08
-go out to multiple bars till 8am on day of check out.
-fall asleep thinking that you don't have to check out.
-recieve call from front desk telling you to leave.
-argue with front desk person, even though he or she is right.
-take count of days booked and realize you are wrong.
-make unbooked night a saturday so all rooms are filled.

thank big baby jesus, that grace is letting me stay with her.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

amazing grace

she is my new bff. jorge introduced us. sort of. grace is jorge´s friend. she lives here in barcelona. he told us to meet. he´s unfortunately not here. amazing grace took me out last night. we ended up going to like 3 bars. stayed out till 5 or 6. i´m finally getting out of the hotel right now and it´s 3 pm. we are going to the mies van der rohe pavillion and posiibly the sagra familia by gaudi. and lunch

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

chill day

shopping is pretty good here. not like paris, but pretty good. cost of living is awesome. food cheap. hotel super cheap. metro is cheap. i think i have it figured out now.

macba (museum d`art contemporarian barcelona) was cool. there is a big open space right in front of the macba where a bunch of skaters were doing tricks. allying and grinding and what not. no cops were stopping them... didn´t go to the picasso museum yet. i think that will happen tomorow. the museums here don´t close till 8. shopping closes pretty late too i think. but there is siesta between 2-5 i think. so i´m getting ready to go out. hopefuly i don´t stay out till 5 am. meeting with grace, jorge´s friend.

waking up in barcelona

last night when i checked in, the front desk guy told me i could not extend my stay in my room until the next morning. i was so afraid that i would have to change locations. i love my room too much. to my surprise this morning, i was able to extend my stay. i even have a double room which is more than enough area for me. i can finally hang up my clothes. that hasnt happenned´on my whole trip. the first duration of my trip i was with 3 to 4 people in a room. then i stayed with some parisians in their home. i´m finally alone with an excessively nice room. it´s sort of strange. sometimes unmotivating to leave because i enjoy the space and i know no one in barcelona

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

barcelona

so i finally have left paris. i went hunt for french clothes yesterday though. i got a super cute shirt from surface to air, a necklace from collette, and some jil sander shoes. the shoes are sooooo hot (6 inch heels).

got to barcelona a few hours ago. thanks mom for teling me to take spanish in high school. some people speak english but not too well. even the guy working the desk at the hotel, we can barely communicate. fortunately i understand him, i think he understands me. the hotel i´m staying at is pretty sweet. its the nicest place i´ve stayed at in europe ever. and it was not too expensive. i have a huge room with a black granite floor, free internet, a sweet bathroom, a blowdryer, and they even have little gift bags in the bathroom with a shower cap, toothbrush, toothpaste, a brush, a comb, a sponge for showering, and house slippers. wtf. a whopping 83 euro a night. right in the center of town.

went to eat at this super cute diner called flash flash. it is owned by a famous spanish photographer, has a bunch of stencilled pieces of a girl and a camera. the food was good, but quite heavy like most spanish food. i am going to explore some more. prolly going to the picasso museum tomorow and maybe the modern art museum. and perhaps shopping too. people wander the streets till like 3 in the morning here. and it´s only tuesday.

party time

I want to move here to Paris. The people are so fashionable here and quite welcoming. I met a group of Parisians who have been showing me around. Shopping is amazing and food is so delish. Pastries and baguettes galore. Kronenbourg beer too


so since i´ve been here in europe, we have been going out just about every night. i needed a break so here it is. the parisians party like theres no tomorow. first we start with dinner and wine. then go to the pub. then to clubs. then to the "after". then drink at their homes. how is it 10 am already?

Monday, January 7, 2008

j´taime

yesterday when i was on the metro, i experience romance second hand. walking through the tunnels i saw some chalk writing on the floor. j´taime marta. turned around a corner i saw a big heart above the name marta. walked up some steps, and i saw a girl taking a picture of another chalk writing on the floor of j´taime marta. then me and my parisian buddies got on our train. she soon followed. we passed a few stops, the girl taking the photo jumps out of the train, runs and hugs a guy waiting at the stop. they both enter the train. i didn´t understand a lot of what they were saying, so i ask my french buddies if that was marta. and of course it was. what a sweet bf. he made a trail for her to find him. j´taime means i love you in french.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

london? not so much

i was supposed to go to london today. booked the wrong ticket. went to the train station. tickets became way too expensive (230 euro one way), so i guess i'm going to barcelona instead.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

nye 2008

so i went to the eiffel tower for nye. it was mad chaos. we left the hotel at 10 and by 11:30pm we were rushing to get there. massive people on the streets, the metro, we couldn´t even get on at some points. so we walked, or ran rather. so we got there right before midnight. people were screaming, dancing, drinking on the streets. no one says anything to you if you have alchohol here. then trying to get home was chaos too. no trains. no taxis. walking. walking. walking. pub till 5 found a taxi, he tried to rip us off (40 euros for a short ride) and then we took the metro when they openned back up.