When You Meet a Stranger on the Plane…

…you know things are about to get a little interesting. As if “Spring Break” doesn’t already have a reputation for being spontaneous, wild and crazy, add a little adventure, some major blunders, bipolar weather, a 5 pound weight gain and you’ve got my awesome Spring Break (Part 1) with the one and only MF.

MF and I had booked Spring Break almost two months in advance, to the destinations of our dreams: Athens and Istanbul. We threw in Barcelona to the tail end of the trip to get a taste of Catalonia (Northeastern Spain). We were as excited to be traveling for more than a weekend as our fellow classmates (maybe a tad bit more). Flights booked, hostels booked, itineraries set, bags packed and we were ready for the perfect getaway.

Or so we thought.

On our way to Athens (from Sevilla), we were kindly reminded that we didn’t book a hostel for when we arrived (3:05AM)…at the time we were trying to save as many Euros as possible, since our flights totaled some 500€ (just over $700). OUCH. Sleeping at the airport seemed like a great idea.

Until we met a stranger on the plane.

JM had been studying in Athens for a few months and struck up a conversation about our experiences in Sevilla and our plans for Athens. Among the things on our to-do list, we made sure to sneak in the fact that we were homeless for a night. Appalled, JM offered to let us sleep in an empty bed at the flat the University provided for student housing. Skeptical at first, MF and I decided to step out of our element and embrace everything Spring Break threw our way. (Disclaimer: I would never EVER take a stranger up on an offer to stay at his/her place for the night. But these circumstances were a bit different and JM was a student just like we were).

Turned out to be the best decision EVER.

JM gave us the low down on everything fabulous to eat in Athens, including Teropita (a pastry filled with Feta cheese) and peach juice. NOM. We were also given an exclusive tour of the Olympic Stadium (of the 2004 games) before heading to the flat. It was awesome! After chatting and giggling, a little bit, about our luck, MF and I went to bed (5:30AM) only to wake up at 8:00AM the next morning.

Here’s a run down of our stay in Athens and some great pictures, obviously:

The “It’s All Greek to Me” Tour:

·         Panathenaic Stadium

·         National Gardens

·         Ermou Street (Michigan Ave)

·         The Acropolis

·         The Pantheon

·         Dionysis’s Ampatheater

·         The Acropolis Museum

·         The Athens-Agora Market (I shopped a little TOO much here)

·         Parliament (We saw the changing of the guards, and the President…we think!)

·         The National Archeological Museum (with cool Greek Mythology and Coins)

·         The Olympic Stadium of the 2004 Games

·         Hadrian’s Library

·         Center Square Church

·         The Temple of Zeus

·         Congress

·         Lycabettus Hill (a 908 foot climb to the top, so tiring)

Needless to say, we had a great time conquering Athens. And to top it off, the gastronomy of the city was phenomenal. MF and I enjoyed Doner Kebabs (Gyros) with Tzatziki sauce, Baklava and Gelato for 72 hours.

Pure Heaven.

On to the next…ISTANBUL, TURKEY!!! I was especially excited for this leg of our trip since I would have the chance to relive the history of my ancestors of the Ottoman Empire. And for once, there would be a change in scene: Mosques instead of churches and cathedrals everywhere.

Literally everywhere. Mosques in Istanbul were a dime a dozen. Every 100 meters or so, we enjoyed the beautiful sights of a domes and minarets on a NEW Mosque. It was unbelievable, something out of my Tal’im books.

Our trip got off to a rough start though. First, we couldn’t find our hostel (because it was hidden in the middle of nowhere), we didn’t have wifi once we got there (the router was “broken” that day), and the hostel worker had no clue where anything was on the Turkish map that he gave us. GRR…the struggles of communicating in a country where you don’t know the language. Stressful.

And the cherry on top of our awful start…getting laughed at at the bank we went to to exchange our Euros for Turkish Liras. We had a sizeable amount of Euros we wanted to convert…but for some reason the tellers and bankers found our sight in the bank funny. So, we gave them our best American attitudes and stormed out of the bank. Ugh.

MF and I were determined to drastically change our Turkey experience. And the only way to do that was to eat MORE KEBABS. We had a very satisfying lunch and were off to explore the gorgeous city of Istanbul.

Here’s a snapshot of our stay there and some pictures:

The “Turkish Delight” Tour:

·         Hagiya Sophia

·         Blue Mosque (Sulemaniya Mosque)

·         Grand Bazaar

·         Topkapi Palace

·         Galata Bridge

·         Dolmabhce Palace

·         Hippodrome

·         Point Zero

We had thought we conquered Turkey, until we arrived to Ataturk Airport an hour before our flight to Barcelona. Unable to find the SpainAir counter, we approached the information desk to be pointed in the right direction. And then we heard the words two girls, in a foreign country, never EVER want to hear: “Uh miss, you are at the wrong airport. Sabiha Gokçen airport is an hour away. I don’t think you will make your flight.”

And that’s exactly what happened. We missed our flight because of a stupid little mistake that we could’ve avoided just by reviewing a minor detail. Alas, things happen for a reason. After dwelling on our idiotic mistake for 30 seconds, MF and I went into problem-solving mode (excellent to talk about in a job interview, LOL).

I started making phone calls to SpainAir and the Sabiha Gokçen airport to save two seats on the next flight our of Barcelona, while MF talked to the Turkish Airlines (partner of SpainAir) Agency to see what they could do for our situation. Who would’ve thought that negotiating existed outside of the Grand Bazaar? I approached each agency and asked for their best price for a flights from Istanbul to Barcelona. The first (and highest) response I got was 255€. All of a sudden I went into Kelley mode and thought…how can I use this to my advantage? I went to the next agency and said “XYZ is offering me 250€ for flight 123, can you give me a better offer?”

Some three hours of haggling with the ticket agencies, 60 minutes of phone card talk time and three chocolate bars later, we had new tickets for Barcelona for 220€.  A steep price for a silly mistake.

Lesson learned, trust me. (MF and I are in the process of being refunded a portion of our first tickets' price).

We spent the night at the airport, flew out to Frankfurt, Germany and 17 hours later were in Barcelona, Spain. FINALLY, in a country where we spoke the language and could understand the people.

The trip in Barcelona went smoothly, just as the rest of our Spring Break should’ve gone. Plus we had mucho sun all weekend long! So great. Here’s a run down of our visit with some pictures.

The “Let’s Squeeze Everything in 1.5 Days” Tour:

·         Arc de Triumphe

·         Casa Batllo

·         Parc Guell (where Tyra Banks shot a season finale of America’s Next Top Model!)

·         Sagrada Familia

·         Arenas de Barcelona

·         Las Ramblas

·         Placa Espanya

·         Montjuic

You would think that after such an intense 10 days, I would spend my next Spring Break in Sevilla, resting and preparing for finals. SIKE. This Thursday, I’ll be leaving for an 8 day trip to (far) Eastern Europe.

Next on this Globe Trotter’s Agenda: Prague, Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungry; Vienna, Austria!

Cant wait!

A Royal Hoosier Weekend

With temperatures in the high 80’s and low 90’s last week (only to go up to 100F in May), I was excited to get away from the hot Sevilla weather and relax in the brisk coolness of London.

Sike.

I guess I should consider myself really lucky. I haven’t been on one trip where the weather was something to complain about (knock on wood), and London wasn’t going to ruin this streak. Ironically, I happened to bring the nice weather with me, as London experienced 60-70F while I was visiting. Pleasant.

This trip was a bit unique from the rest: not only was I traveling alone, but I was also meeting up some of closest friends at Indiana University.  The Kelley School of Business has a way of bringing students together through its arduous exams and demanding coursework, and eventually creating lasting friendships. It’s typical for students to study abroad 2^nd semester junior year (after taking I-CORE in the fall), thus my friends and I have had many traveling destinations to choose from.



With Professor Briggs of Operations Management at the Kelley School of Business



MM, my gracious hostess, invited me to stay with her if I had room to fit London into my traveling schedule. I took her up on her offer and was off to be reunited with several Kelleys (in London for an internship program, similar to mine in Sevilla) and JS, a friend from freshman year, starting her one month Euro trip in London.

But of course, the actual travel to my chosen destination has to be an interesting one, or else I would have nothing fun to blog about. Don’t you worry readers, I had quite the experience even BEFORE leaving Sevilla. First, the AC on the shuttle bus from the city center to the airport BROKE on our ride. 100 passengers were jam packed into a bus built for 30, with backpacks, suitcases and smelly armpits…so you can only imagine what I was going through.

Death.

Next, having gotten to my Ryanair terminal an hour before take-off, I was notified that our flight was delayed by a half hour. Okay, not bad for Ryanair. But THEN I was searched from head to toe by the airport POLICE (AFTER having been initially searched at security) before getting on board. And to make matters worse, I got stuck between seven women, in their mid 40’s having left their kids at home for with their husbands, for a “Girls Getaway Weekend” during the flight. They were screaming, whistling, dancing flamenco and ordering around the air hostesses for the entire 2 hours and 20 minutes. Needless to say, I got NO sleep on that flight.

At Stansted airport, I had to wait another half hour to get through customs and missed my bus to the center of London. I had to buy another ticket (the exchange rate from Euros to Pounds REALLY killed me) and was off. I was instructed to call MM when my bus left, but get this…genius me turned off my cell phone on the flight, and when I finally turned it back on I realized I forgot to bring the 4-digit pin to unlock it. EPIC FAIL. So I had no way of getting in touch with her. Luckily the lady sitting next to me on the bus was nice enough to let me use her phone for a few seconds.

Long story short, we finally made it to MM’s flat at 4AM. Some five hours later, we started exploring the city. JS and I were on our own for the most part, as MM had a final presentation to deliver.  Here are some of the sights we saw on our tour (including the hyped up changing of the guards in front of Buckingham Palace).

The three of us eventually met up again at MM’s internship (brace yourselves) in PARLIAMENT! MM was given access to all rooms and areas in this ginormous building and was allowed to give friends and family a private tour of the place. WIN. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures inside…but this is what it looks like from the outside (not many people can say they’ve seen the parliament up close and personal!).

The rest of the day was spent sightseeing (including PLATFORM 9 and ¾ for all of you Harry Potter fans!), cooking dinner and resting up after a long, touristy day in the city. I, however, used this time (Friday evening) to visit the first Ismaili Center ever created.  I’d like to think I’ve become braver traveling on my own…taking the local subways and buses to where I need to be, but I’ll have to admit, this time I got a little help from the city of London. Take a look:

How crazy?!?! Seeing the Ismaili Center labeled on the tube stop was such a proud moment for me! Jamati ceremonies were what I usually experience in the States (same language, same sequence of events, etc) except that the ceremonies were conducted in a much better accent (haha) and that I received a candy instead of Sukreet when drinking Niyaz (holy water). After ceremonies, I was fortunate enough to run into some familiar faces (ZS and RK) and then was given a tour of the center. It was beautiful! Here are the few pictures I was allowed to take.

Saturday followed the tune of Friday’s touristic day. I saw St. James Park, did the South Bank River Walk, St. Paul’s, the Globe Theater, London’s Financial District, Borough Market, Tower of London and walked across several bridges, one of them being the same bridge used in a HARRY POTTER MOVIE (I’m a HUGE fan :D). I also stopped by the Institute of Ismaili Studies for a personal tour of the building. A professor was kind enough to take me from one floor to the next, explaining in detail the STEP and GPISH Programs offered by the Institute. Interested in learning more? Check out this link: http://www.iis.ac.uk/home.asp?l=en.

In the evening we cooked dinner, watched Mama Mia with MM and her five other flat-mates and eventually got ready for a BIG Kelley Reunion. It was a long, but extremely fun, night catching up with everyone and trading study abroad stories…ending with a London sunrise, LOL.

Sunday morning I had breakfast with JS, MM and MM’s brother and girlfriend who were her newest visitors (she’s had many throughout the semester) and then revisited the British Museum to finish seeing some galleries before heading back to Sevilla.

Overall, a solid weekend with some exceptionally great people.

This week, I’m scrambling to submit final papers and projects (two weeks before their deadline) as I’m headed out for a 10 day spring break in...(hold on to you hats) ATHENS, GREECE AND ISTANBUL TURKEY (and Barcelona)!!!! This spring break will be one of two that I’ll be enjoying this semester. I’ll clue you all in on the locations of my second break as the time gets closer.

Until next time.