I'm home!

I just wanted to let everyone know that after 26 hours of travel, I made it home to SD safely. Weather was bad in frankfurt so we had to sit on the plane for 2 hours on the runway waiting to take off. We watched an entire movie before even taking off. I barely made my connecting flight in San Francisco but after a quick jog through the airport, I made it. Thanks for all your comments on my blog. It was nice to hear from everyone! I will talk to you all soon!

GULA GULA

Our next night in Barcelona was crazy. We found this strip of bars down by the beach that was amazing. It was just club after club with every type of music you could want. If you didnt want to hear techno, you could walk next door and dance to Madonna or go to the irish pub two more doors down. They all want girls in their clubs too so they hand the girls cards for free drinks so it ended up being a pretty reasonable evening, as far as expenditures go. I danced the night away. My friend Brittany and I were trying to find cute boys and ended up running into yet another british bachelor party (5th of the trip). We got home just as the sun was rising and then basically slept all day.

The next day Trent, John, and I hiked to the top of this mountain by our hotel and found a mini 6 flags. It was an entire amusement park complete with roller coasters and a log ride. The views from the top were amazing as well. That night was the SPansih futbol (soccer) league finals which as you can guess was quite the big deal. A bunch of us went to a local bar to watch the big game. It was like watching the world series or superbowl. If barcelona won they would win the entire league and if Madrid won their game they would win the league. I was watching the madrid game and the last 20 minutes were so exciting because they scored 2 goals back to back. Barcelona as a city was not happy about that outcome because Madrid ended up winning the league. Now I think I am a Madrid futbol fan (even though david beckham is leaving). After the game we went to a nice paella dinner and just decided to call it a night and go home. Easier said than done. The metro apparently closes at midnight and we finished dinner at 12:15. You couldnt get a taxi anywhere because streets were closed from a bullfight protest and everyone was out for the futbol game. We found one taxi but they wouldnt take all of us so 3 of us stayed behind, I was one of them. Instead of wandering the streets, I suggested going into a hotel and seeing if they would call a cab for us. We happen to walk by a really nice hotel with 2 cute young guys working the front desk. They called us a cab, which took about an hour to get there but it was ok. We talked with them and they let us sit on the comfy couches and sip cava (its kind of like a Spanish version of champagne) and have corn nuts. It was all totally worth not getting into the first cab.

Now its time for the Gula Gula story. I am now in Madrid and our hotel is smack dab in the center of all the hip places in the city. Two of the best stores are right accross the street from our hotel and all the clubs are within walking distance. Last night, 8 of us girls went to a restaurant called Gula Gula and it was so much fun...did I mention that it is a restaurant run by drag queens?? The hostess was about 7 feet tall and gorgeous. I was definately jealous of the mile long legs (dont worry, I have pictures). They had an all you buffet, we had sangria, and dessert (cheesecake). Then, the show started! It was hilarious and quite the experience. Our waiter wore a Gula Gula tank top, black booty shorts, thigh high tights and black boots. When he found out we were from the States he was so excited because that is where Brittany Spears is from and he loves her. There was one guy who was dressed as an Indian and all of us girls had a huge crush on him by the end of the night. After dinner we went to a couple bars. Tonight is our last night to really go out so we are all planning on having a super fun night tonight (there is a 5 story club here we are going to go to). I cant wait to see you all in just a couple days!!!

I finally understand the language!!!

Well I sure do have a lot of catching up to do. I guess I will start with Florence, or Firenze as the Italians say. Our hotel in Forence was by far the nicest one yet. We had two 4 poster beds with red bedspreads and white curtains around it. The bathroom was all white tile and chrome and I coudl have taken a bath in there forever. We felt like we got the royal suite. Florence itself was very beautiful. We went out both nights to two different clubs. Whitney, if you are reading this maybe you've gone to them. Astor and Twice?? The first night was quite the adventure. I was lost in Florence and the only thing that saved me was that I had taken a picture of my hotel and someone was able to steer me in the right direction. I ended up only being about 5 minutes from my hotel so I was fun. Mom, I only tell you this now because I am alive and well so now it is just an entertaining story :) I didnt get to see a lot of the tourist stuff because it was Monday which apparently means everything is closed. I did fall in love yet again with another Italian though...are you suprised though? On our bus ride we stopped off in Pisa and took the typical pictures with the leaning tower. The whole town of Pisa is basically one street so its basically the tower and tourist vendors.

Our next stop was the French Riviera. What a relaxing two days this was! Our hotel looked like it oculd have been on a beach in Mexico. They were like mini apartments complete with a kitchen!! Everyone stayed in and cooked that night. We had a feast. We made hamburgers, paella, and green beans...oh and of course ice cream. We did no sight seeing at all, just high quality time at the pool which was much needed after all the long days we have been having. We kept the nights low key as well which was a pleasant change. However, the only downside to the Riviera was that we were back in France...man how we all love those french people. At our hotel, you basically had to fight to get some toilet paper and dont even think about getting a fresh towel (even when they dont supply pool towels so you must use the same one for both...gross).

We stayed in Orange for one night and we were all happy to say it would be our last in France. Our hotel was quite the luxurious resort. Actually, that was the biggets lie I have told you yet. I heard the hotel rooms described as worse than a room on a cruise ship and that ti was like living inside a portapottie. Our bathroom light did not work, so we had to leave it open to use it and I could not sit on the toilet and close the door because the bathroom was that small. To top it off, there is not a single thing to do in Orange. Everything closes at about 7. When we left Orange we stopped off at an adorable little town called Carcasonne that is completely surrounded by a wall. It was a mideval town, complete with drawbridge and a place where a moat would have gone. Here, I the best quiche Lorraine in my life.

The whole bus cheered the next day when we crossed the border into Spain. Don't get me wrong, France is beautiful but the people are rude. Now I am in Barcelona and it is really nice here. The timing of the daily activities is throwing me off a bit though. Lunch isnt until about 2 or 3 and then dinner is around 11pm. Last night we wanted to go out to a club and even at midnight nothing was really going on. People were walking around everywhere but no clubs were full. I was walking around with about 8 girls and we ran into some American boys who were staying on the main strip and so we hung out and had some Sangria with them for a bit. Then we found a small Autralian bar with 2 British bachelor parties (or as they call them "stag nights"). From this point on I did not pay for a single thing. Most of the guys were either engaged or had girlfriends but they were very nice and entertaining. They bought my drinks, paid for our cab ride to a club, and paid for our entrance fee into the club. one kept giving me a hard time because he said he didnt believe I was American, he thought I had just mastered the accent really well. This was an argument with him for the entire evening. The discotec we went to was neat inside but only played techno music, bad techno music. The most hilarious thing though was watching how people dance to it. Let's just say I have learned some new moves that I'll be bringing back to the States for purely entertainment purposes. Well, its about 2 now so I guess its about time for an early lunch.

I miss you all and cannot wait to see you all in less than a week!!!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

El Presidente

So guess who is in town? George W. is in Rome...and thus blocking off all of the good shopping streets! There are police and army men on almost every corner. If the men are not on the corner, there are armored buses and cars. We were able to be there when the whole presidential birgade drove through but the blockade was too far away to see anything good. After the brigade went through we tried to get to the store we have been wanting to go to, but the whole main drag was blocked off and is going to be blocked off all day. How dare Bush take away from my Europe trip! The one highlight of all this was all of the adorable Italian army men in their uniforms all over the place who were all more than willing to help 6 girls with directions :) Im pretty sure we stopped on almost every corner and asked the same questions just to talk to them. There were also a lot of anti-war rallies going on which was kind of scary. We had to walk right down the center of one and some man got in my face and said "No Bush!" and gave me a thumbs down.

Earlier today we went to the Collasium and Roman ruins or Forum as they are also called. Being inside the Collasium was so cool! You could see where the Emporer would sit and where all the gladiators and animals were caged up before being released into the center. Its just amazing to be standing in something that was built in the 1st century! It was like a regular stadium too. Each of the arches outside were gates and they even have gate numbers ingraved above all of them. We finally had a sunny day so my pictures turned out really well. The Forum was really cool too. I saw the place where Julius Ceasar was assassinated along with some seriously ancient churches. For any Chi Os reading this...I also saw the place where the Vestal Virgin was burried and they had to keep a fire burning all the time in order to prevent an omen fro coming on them. There was this whole garden with statues of Vestal Virgins too. The ruins were jut crazy because they have been there for such a long time.

Last night we went out on the town. All the EF groups met up at a bar called the Drunken Ship in Campo de Fiori (a plaza in Rome). One interesting difference I noticed was that you could walk into any bar, buy a drink, and then just walk around the streets with the drink you bought. People just congregated and hung out in the plaza. We of course met some more Italian guys. This time, they didnt really speak any English. I talked a lot with a guy named Marco. He kept calling me Brittany SPears or Christina Aguilara (personally I see no resemblance). BY the time I said good bye he asked to be my "partner" which apparently means boyfriend and then asked me to be his fiance. Overall, it was really entertaining. Tomorrow we are off to Florence and Im really excited. I hear Florence is supposed to be gorgeous!

Ciao Bella!

I am officially in love with Italy!! Who knew that they really did eat pizza and pasta for almost every meal? Suprisingly, I am still not sick of it at all. I finally acheived my dream of going to Venice! It was so cool. We started out with a walking tour in the morning and saw Saint Marcs square (sorry if punctuation is off, these foreign keyboards are difficult) and the Doges palace. St. Marcs square is the one that is photgraphed often and has all the pigeons in it. St. Marcs church supposedly has the relics of the gospel Mark inside it. After that we went to a reall venitican glass blowing factory. It was amazing to see how talented they are and how quickly they can create beautiful pieces. I had lost my earrings the night before and bought a really pretty pair of Venitician glass ones. Later on in the day, 5 of us girls took a gondola ride through the canals. Talk about cool! OUr gondola driver had the striped shirt and hat with the ribbon on it and everything. Venice is such an interesting city. The "streets" are just basically allyways and some are only 1 meter wide. All of the transportation including ambulances, trash collection, taxis, and UPS are all done by boat. I didnt see one car, motorbike, or bicycle the entire time.

Okay, now for the juicy story. Dad, Steve Kuptz, Uncle Bob, you might want to skip to the next paragraph :) haha, dont worry its not that bad. So I ran inot my friends Amanda, Caitlin, and Brittany sitting along a canal and having a glass of wine. They told me the only reason why they stopped was because of Paulo...and as soon as I saw Paulo, I knew exactly what they were talking about. Paulo was a tall, tan, dark haired, bright blue eyes waiter at the restaurant (dont worry, I have a picture). Lets just say that within the first 10 minutes of meeting him he has given me a tiny kiss on my lips...in the restaurant!! He actually gave us all a tiny kiss on the cheeks at one point too. He was really nice and was making eyes with me the entire time we sat there. On our way out, we stopped by the bathroom and he gave each of us a hug. When he hugged m, he told me I was beautiful and kissed me again. Now here is the kicker...so on the way out of the restroom, I was the last one out and thus, the last one to say a final goodbye to Paulo. I went to give him a final hug and he proceeded to put his hands on my waist, lean me up against the wall of the hallway between the kitchen and the bathroom and plant a big one on me! Like a makeout! IN the restaurant that he was working in!! When I walked out of the restaurant I shouted "I love italian men!" and all the other girls were jealous of my kiss. I think it might be one of the best stories of the trip so far.

Now we are in Rome. If ROme was a perfume, it would be a combination of sewage and BO. Even thoguh it smells bad and is kind of dirty, it has so many interesting things to see. Today we went to the Vatican. We had to wait 3 hours in line just to enter Vatican City. I saw the Sistine Chapel. All I can say is WOW! Did you know that is where the cardinals meet to elect the pope? The painting of "The final judgement" which is on one of the walls is absolutely amazing. We also saw St. Peters church and it was absolutely breath taking. They have a bronze altar in the center that is voer 60 ft tall. It is the lngest church in the world with a length of over 200 meters. After leaving the Vatican, we went to the Trevi fountain (which is one of my favorite spots now), the Pantheon (which was built in the 2nd century and is still kickin), and the SPanish steps.

Throughout Italy I have had more pizza and gelato than I ever imagined I would eat. However, we walk everywhere so it gets burned off really fast. To all you girls out there, if you ever need an ego boost because ou are having an "ugly" day, find some Italian men. They honk at you, whistle, shout, say hi, blow kisses, and flirt with you. Jane, it is like 10 times what we got in Mexico. Even the guy working at the gelato stand told me I was "bellisima". Once again...I love Italy! Tomorrow we are going to the collasium and the roman ruins. I love and miss you all!!! Ciao!

Yoddle-eh-hee-who

So our hotel in Germany was quite the expereince. Just picture any hotel, set in the middle of nowhere, where a horror movie would take place and you have seen our hotel. There was an indoor pool in the basement complete with bloody handprint on the pool shower door...creepy. Luckily, I survived. We didnt go out at all because like I said, we were in the middle of nowhere. But we did manage to have a big beer pong tournament in the basement and not get kicked out :) Today is our second day in Switzerland and as my theory goes, Lucerne is even prettier than the other cities I have seen. It looks like something out of a fairytale. I keep looking for a dragon or a unicorn to come frollicing over the hillside. It looks like the movie Heidi everywhere. Today we went to Mt. Pilatus which is the tallest peak in Lucerne and part of the Swiss Alps. I can now cross riding the steepest train in the world and louging down the swiss alps off my list of things to do before I die. The top of this mountain was unbeleivable. FOr awhile, all you could see was clouds and it felt like I was in heaven. There were cows and goats everywhere and guess what...they actually had on legit cow bells! Everything is so green and wildflowers grow everywhere. I cant say enough about it. Dad, if you have not been to Switzerland, I think you would feel like you died and went to heaven if you did. The mountains and lakes remind me of somewhere you would love to go camping. Oh! and boy do the Swiss know how to make a bed...I have never slept in anything more comforabtle in my life. Everything is goose down and the mattress si this crazy memory phone. It totally beats all the other hotels so far. However, we are off to Venice, Italy tomorrow where our hotel is on the beach. I cant wait!!!!

Germany

Well after my "nap" last night (I can barley call what I got last night a full night of sleep), we woke up early and have been headed to Germany. Every country and evry town gets more beutiful and amaying as we go! I am officially in love with Germany. It is so green and the buildings are adorable. Our hotle is on a lake and apparently has a bowling ally. While in Germany I am rooming with two girls, caitlin and courtney. Somehow, in Amsterdam I was able to swing a room by myself...it was kind of a nice break considering I spend almost 24 hours a day with everyone. I also achieved my goal in Germany, I ate a real German brat...this is not a lie, but Dad, your brats would ahve definately beaten the ones here in a taste test. Hopefully tonight will be a low key night. I sure need one after Amsterdam. I actually need one in general. Apparently, we had a little too much fun in Paris and the hotel we stayed at phoned ahead to the hotel in Amsterdam and they canceled our reservation 5 minutes before we got there. We were able to find another one but they took a lot of percautions with us like getting deposits for the room and emptying the minibar. So now I can say I have officailly been kicked out of a hotel (even before arriving). I have been taking so many pictures I think I am going to need another memory card. Get ready for me to be that person who gets back from trips and sets up a slide show of 1000 photos :)

3AM in Amsterdam

Well, I finally found time to sit at the computer without a line of 3 or 4 people waiting to use it after me. I guess that is what happens when the hotel has only one computer and free internet. Amsterdam has been amazing. All of the canals haev made me even more excited to see Venice! What a refreshing change to have people speak English again too! I'm sorry to say but the rumors are true...the French are mean. I met one super sweet lady that ran the restaurant we ate at in Versailles. She was adorable and I learned that I know a lot more French thatn I thought when talking with her. Today in Amsterdam, we walked to Anne Frank's house. What a cool expereince that was! We also took a super fun trip to the Heiniken factory. they have this thing called "the heiniken Experience" where they have everything from a ride simulation where you go through the bottling process to trying beers at 3 different bars throughout. People kept giving us tokens for the free beer so we ended up staying a little longer than planned :) I met a guy on the Rugby team at U of A at the factory...what a small world! Tonight we all went out to the hot spot of Amsterdam and went to a club where we danced the night away! I forgot to tell you all some things in the last blog...IN England, we also went to see STOMP which was porbably one of the coolest tings I have ever seen. If you get a chance, go see it!!! We are off to Heilberg, Germany bright and early tomorrow and I can't wait to get a braut (not sure how to spell that). I'll let you know how it goes later!! Love you!!!