Denise: Version Summer 2008
Hello, Livejournal!
Well, seeing as how my summer out of the country is coming to an end (and seeing as how this might be the only chance I get to post until 17 August), I have decided to update the journal.
Spain and Portugal were amazing. I have fallen in love with Europe and have decided that if I ever have kids, I think I'd like to raise them across the pond. Not sure where, yet, but somewhere in that general direction. Getting me on the plane back to Mexico was not easy, but I got on the damned contraption anyway.
Portugal's capital, Lisbon, was beautiful. It has some very impressive bridges that connect the city to the rest of the country. Huge, 13 kilometer-long bridge! Like any city, it has its nice areas and its decidedly not so nice areas, but it's a pleasant city. I wouldn't live there, though. I'd rather live up north in Porto or Braga if it came to living in Portugal.
The south of Portugal is mostly beaches. Water's cold as hell, though. A lot of Arabic influence in the south, I found. And it's mostly unpopulated except for the random towns dotted along the road from Lisbon to Albufeira. Very small country - can go from south tip to northern tip in about ten hours, and I'm exaggerating.
The north is definately the industrial area of Portugal. We went to a wine house in Porto and saw the oldest wine cellar EVAR! Wines from 1812! They don't sell those anymore, though. They sell from 1856 onward, if I recall correctly. And that's expensive ass wine! It has to be consumed within 24 hours of being de-corked (the faster, the better) or else it stops being an awesome wine and turns into hella old grape juice because of the oxygen in the air. Porto has a river running right through it and about seven bridges that criss-cross over it. We took a little boat tour up and down the river and got to go under all the little bridges. It was pretty fantastic.
Spain! Well, what can I say? I really liked the country. Seville, Madrid, and Barcelona, in particular. Seville is the third or fourth largest city in the country, but it doesn't really feel like it. More like a really big town and not a city. People going about on bikes and stuff. It's pretty nifty. I got this sorta peaceful vibe from the entire place. And we walked around for an entire day and really got to see the life of people who live in Seville. I really liked it.
Barcelona was also spectacular. It rained as if the sky had some sort of personal vendetta against the city the first night we were there, but it was really beautiful. The marina, which is a recent addition to the city (it was once an industrial dump site), was captivating. The entire ocean spread out before you with the breeze messing up your hair...very pleasant. It's a more bohemian lifestyle than the one seen in Madrid, and I felt it a but more relaxed. We went to the Piccaso museum. Dude was a master painter...then he went a little nuts in the head toward the end. But, we can all forgive, can't we?
Madrid. Spectacular night life. I didn't know this, but it gets dark at ten at night over there. So people don't go out to dinner until nine. Then the party gets going at about twelve. Very interesting style, that one. So Denise went to the bars and clubs and decided that, while it is fun, it's not the best thing in the world - and really, it can be a bit overrated. I liked it the first night we went out, but then it lost its charm after a week. Was very drunk, once. Slightly buzzed thrice. And on the night that I was drunk off my ass, my cousin's allergy kicked in so I had to give her a shot. First time ever injecting anyone, drunk, and my cousin says it was perfect. Go me!
But enough about that...
Also, Denise is no longer Catholic. Well, I don't think I've been Catholic since sometime in sophomore year, but at least now I can say it. I believe in God, mind you. But only in God. And that's because I'm still human and humans need to have a higher power to believe in. So that's that.
I think that's it. Anything else is sure to come tumbling out of my mouth at some point or another during the next school year. Love,
Denise
Well, seeing as how my summer out of the country is coming to an end (and seeing as how this might be the only chance I get to post until 17 August), I have decided to update the journal.
Spain and Portugal were amazing. I have fallen in love with Europe and have decided that if I ever have kids, I think I'd like to raise them across the pond. Not sure where, yet, but somewhere in that general direction. Getting me on the plane back to Mexico was not easy, but I got on the damned contraption anyway.
Portugal's capital, Lisbon, was beautiful. It has some very impressive bridges that connect the city to the rest of the country. Huge, 13 kilometer-long bridge! Like any city, it has its nice areas and its decidedly not so nice areas, but it's a pleasant city. I wouldn't live there, though. I'd rather live up north in Porto or Braga if it came to living in Portugal.
The south of Portugal is mostly beaches. Water's cold as hell, though. A lot of Arabic influence in the south, I found. And it's mostly unpopulated except for the random towns dotted along the road from Lisbon to Albufeira. Very small country - can go from south tip to northern tip in about ten hours, and I'm exaggerating.
The north is definately the industrial area of Portugal. We went to a wine house in Porto and saw the oldest wine cellar EVAR! Wines from 1812! They don't sell those anymore, though. They sell from 1856 onward, if I recall correctly. And that's expensive ass wine! It has to be consumed within 24 hours of being de-corked (the faster, the better) or else it stops being an awesome wine and turns into hella old grape juice because of the oxygen in the air. Porto has a river running right through it and about seven bridges that criss-cross over it. We took a little boat tour up and down the river and got to go under all the little bridges. It was pretty fantastic.
Spain! Well, what can I say? I really liked the country. Seville, Madrid, and Barcelona, in particular. Seville is the third or fourth largest city in the country, but it doesn't really feel like it. More like a really big town and not a city. People going about on bikes and stuff. It's pretty nifty. I got this sorta peaceful vibe from the entire place. And we walked around for an entire day and really got to see the life of people who live in Seville. I really liked it.
Barcelona was also spectacular. It rained as if the sky had some sort of personal vendetta against the city the first night we were there, but it was really beautiful. The marina, which is a recent addition to the city (it was once an industrial dump site), was captivating. The entire ocean spread out before you with the breeze messing up your hair...very pleasant. It's a more bohemian lifestyle than the one seen in Madrid, and I felt it a but more relaxed. We went to the Piccaso museum. Dude was a master painter...then he went a little nuts in the head toward the end. But, we can all forgive, can't we?
Madrid. Spectacular night life. I didn't know this, but it gets dark at ten at night over there. So people don't go out to dinner until nine. Then the party gets going at about twelve. Very interesting style, that one. So Denise went to the bars and clubs and decided that, while it is fun, it's not the best thing in the world - and really, it can be a bit overrated. I liked it the first night we went out, but then it lost its charm after a week. Was very drunk, once. Slightly buzzed thrice. And on the night that I was drunk off my ass, my cousin's allergy kicked in so I had to give her a shot. First time ever injecting anyone, drunk, and my cousin says it was perfect. Go me!
But enough about that...
Also, Denise is no longer Catholic. Well, I don't think I've been Catholic since sometime in sophomore year, but at least now I can say it. I believe in God, mind you. But only in God. And that's because I'm still human and humans need to have a higher power to believe in. So that's that.
I think that's it. Anything else is sure to come tumbling out of my mouth at some point or another during the next school year. Love,
Denise