Netherabsence - due to traveling!

Sorry blog readers for not keeping up with my blog while traveling. My internet time was limited. :(

Thursday:
My voice went missing, and I had a read aloud planned out. Needless to say, the read aloud was horrible due to my voice, but we did Reader's Theater leading to the students having a blast. We didn't have enough time to finish it but we will next time we meet. My 2-4 class went awesome, and some of the students stayed the entire 2 hours! That's just how much fun they had with me. I loved every minute of it except for my voice. The students did cooperate with me though. We also had more students show up which was exciting. :)

Then, we had dinner with the teachers. This day was the day for parent-teacher conference, and the school had dinner for the teachers who had conferences and had to stay at the school during dinner time. I got to eat sauerkraut, and it wasn't one of my favorites.

At 11pm, Ashton and I caught the bus to Paris - a whoping 7 hours drive! We arrived in Paris at 6 am. :)

Paris, France
1st day:
• checked in Friends Hostel
- clean, rooms are very small, 4 beds in a room
- roommates were Corny and Max (both were Germans)
- toilets clogged, showers small
- no hot water
- no breakfast, wifi is not free
- bad location/neighborhood
• Eiffel Tower!
• picked up Paris Pass (89 euros)
• bought souvenirs (should wait until the last day for cheaper souvenirs)
• Free walking tour for 4 hours!
2nd day:
• Used Paris Pass
• Montparnasse Tour
• Conciergerie
• Notre Dame
• Bateaux Parisiens (1 hr. cruise)
• Grevin Wax Museum (dropped my camera in the toilet)
• tried crepes with chocolate and whipped cream 
• Arc de Triomphe
3rd day:
• planned on going to Versailles – never made it
• Louvre – ate at McDonalds 
• Sewage Museum – poopy water!
• Dome church where Napolean’s tomb is
• Army Museum – realized that we dated our museum pass wrong
• Grande Arche
• Montmartre – where all the painters are – amazing atmosphere
• Espace Dali – where the melted clock from Alice in Wonderland is located
4th day:
• traveling
Observations:
• lots of homeless people (esp. ones that ask if you speak English, then hand you a note to read asking for money)
• went to the slums and sketchville of Paris
• lots of artists on the metro – metro makes it really easy to travel around Paris
• boys like to stare – very creepy
• people spoke English

Barcelona, Spain
1st day:
• checked in Hostel Maritima
- not very clean, rooms are ok, 8 beds in a room
- roommates were British boys and Italian couple (very loud)
- good bathrooms, scared of showers
- hot water, great breakfast, free wifi
- great location
- no heat/air
• walked around La Rambla and surrounding neighborhoods
• Barcelona pass wasn’t as great as Paris Pass – didn’t purchase
• saw one of the many cathedrals, narrow alleys, tons of stores, and happy pills!
• saw Casa Battlo
• people watched – lots of lesbian couples in Barcelona
• tapas and sangria at Ideal Restaurant
2nd day:
• grabbed a map in the room that the Italian couple left
• walked around Barcelona
• found Sagrada Familia, Arc de Triomf,
• bought souvenirs for friends – all souvenirs are priced differently and can bargain 
• tapas, paella, and sangria at Brasil Restaurant
3rd day:
• found a free walking tour by Masaar!
• learned all about the history of Barcelona
• met a family of five who is on a world tour – they plan on traveling for 8 months
• lunch at Travel Bar 
• dinner at Pollo Rico – big plate of chicken and fries (very greasy) and of course, Sangria!
• flight was cancelled because of French Civil Aviation strike – had to rebook flight
• slept in the airport 
4th day:
• traveling
Observations:
• night life is great!
• late dinners
• witnessed prostitution
• 85% chance of getting robbed
• hardly anyone spoke English