So here we go....
Another great week in Oxford. Not anything super interesting happened on the school plains except two extremely tough papers due on Thursday. 1. Does Parliament interpret the will of Parliament? Should they? 2. Is the Democratic Peace theory the answer to world peace? Why or why not?
These papers took me hours upon hours sitting in a well lit computer room with a big picture window overlooking beautiful brick buildings lined with ivy and flowers. What a distraction! So many things to see just a few steps away--but instead I'm inside writing legal theory! But thats Oxford for you, what can you expect from the best and oldest institution in the world? So I wrote the papers and had class discussion at tutorial on Thursday. Sprinkled throughout the week was High Table (Harry Potter) dinner on Monday, a club called Bridge in Oxford on Monday, and wonderful chocolate from the convience store across the street. Thursday was the day I had been looking forward to all week, and finally, it arrived.
A huge group of us, maybe 15 or so, met up after dinner on Thusday night. Together, we walked to the Oxford Bus Station ready for a great weekend together. We had no idea what to expect or if the plans would even succeed in the first place, but we trusted that our newfound travelling instincts would guide the way. So we plodded along the streets as dusk started to overtake the sky, and finally at the trainstation we ran to the desk to get tickets to Bristol, United Kingdom. "3 minutes for the next train" the desk assistant spoke quietly and with an English accent. So of course we yelled for the group to reconvene and head to Platform 3. And of course, we missed the first train. So we sat for 10 minutes and were informed that we could take another train to a different city, change trains, and resume our trip to the final destination of Bristol. So thats what we did, only diverting our trip about 20 minutes.
When in Bristol, our large group tracked down the sidewalks trying to find Broad Street... Not that hard, right? Wrong. But at least we're on the coast. Seagulls cawed over our heads, and within minutes our friend James recieved a gift. Not from his mother or from a friend. From the seagulls above his head. Right on his shoulder. Yes, it was raining seagull crap. We brushed it off, continued the walk, and finally found the Grand Hotel in Bristol, UK. It was a beautiful 4-star hotel, and we had 2 rooms. For 17 people. YIKES. We did what any cheap travellers would do, and we slept longways, crossways, on top of people in the beds, on the cots, and crossing floors. But we made it, and we were staying at quite possibly one of the nicest places in Bristol. That night in Bristol was full of suprises; stags (Bachelor parties), charities, etc. People were dressed up in some of the craziest outfits I've ever seen. We took pictures with many of them (see Facebook soon), and we ate some delicious Kabobs and fries on the street as we waited for the late hours to settle in.... I'm on the coast of England, about to hop on a plane to Spain.
The morning comes early; 4:30 early. We all round up in the marble floored lobby and trek again to the bus station to board a bus for the airport. At this point, eyes are heavy but spirits are high. When we finally get off the train after arriving at the airport, we check in to one of the crappiest airline carries in all of the world--RyanAir. Or as we call it--RyanScare. But nonetheless, we are cheap travellers, and you gotta do what you gotta do. We pulled out our boarding passes (company policy in fine print--if you don't print out your boarding pass, you pay $60 at the gate extra) and attended the line that wrapped way around the airport. We got our boarding passes stamped, we got through security, and off we went searching through the maze of a very crappy airport. Finally we found our flight, and we walked out on the tarmac (its RyanAir, okay?) got on the plane, and off we went. I've literally never been on a plane like RyanAir. They sell cigarettes ON BOARD THE PLANE. Okay, their "smokeless" cigarettes, but come on! They sell Lottery Tickets. The seats are big enough for 1/2 a person. But it was CHEAP! So we finally approach the highest altitude. Below us are the English Channel, then France, then the Alps, and finally we see the beautiful Mediterranean coast. We have arrived in Espana!
The landing was of course terrible, but we touched ground. We disembarked, and we saw beautiful mountains lining the coast of one of the worlds most beautiful countries. Throughout the weekend, we saw absolutely beautiful scenery, we ate the most delicious seafood I've ever tasted, and we saw sights such as the Picasso Museum, the Unfinished Gaudi Chapel, the Gaudi Park, an amazing Fountain Show with lights and music, the Mediterranean Sea, stood atop the highest point in Barcelona and saw the whole city, and saw the Barcelona Night Life. It was amazing. One of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my whole entire life! It was an odd mix of a Carribean Island and a beautiful European city. I heard so many scary stories about Barcelona, but I had no bad experiences...until.....
So Saturday night we all decided to eat a nice meal at a wonderful Spanish seafood restaurant, and then we wanted to go dancing at a European techno club. So we ate our meal and we walked to the pier where the long line of clubs meet the beach. It was quite possibly one of the craziest nightlifes I've ever seen. Thousands upon thousands of people lined up to go in these absolutely massive clubs. And not just one club. Like 10. And all on the coast. It was also strange because at this point, people are just arriving and its 1 a.m. Apparently they still take ciestas in Spain after lunch, sleep for a while, then eat at 10 and go out at 1. Anyways, we get there, go in a club, dance for a bit, then our group decides they want to watch the sunrise. Not my first choice, but I'll go with it.... So at 3-4 a.m., we are sitting on the Spanish beach among thousands of people, we can hear and see the lights and music from the clubs behind us, and it's madness. About an hour into our sit on the beach we decide to take a picture. We get in a huddle to take the picture, and behind us runs two guys that hop in the picture with us. We brush it off thinking them just tourists, and all of the sudden a girl in our group screams that her purse is gone. We look everywhere to no avail, and finally realize the culprits have just escaped after 5 minutes of distraction. How could we be so stupid? So of course then arises a mess. Then it gets deeper when we find out thse guys are really bad news, and our friend has followed them into the night to retrieve the purse. We panick, and realize he has to be found. HIs life could be in serious danger, and he may not be in the best state to return alone to our Hostel. So we split up (remember, we have no phones because our phones don't work in Spain), and 2 groups try 2 ways of finding this kid. It was a mess, but finally, at 6:30 a.m., we realize there is nothing else we can do and we leave the beach. We walked along the coast, and we experience quite possibly one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Sunrise over the Mediterranean. It was beautiful, but still we were worried about our friend and very tired. Fastforward 4 hours, and we have taken a nap and prepared to go back into the world to get ready to come back to Oxford. Joe (our friend who was missing) has gotten a taxi back to the Hostel under very strange circumstances, and we are together again. We see a little more of the beautiful city then hop a bus back to the airport. Adios Espana!
One last note about the flight home--RyanScare just got scarier. Apprently we caught a "wake" from another plane because we got too close, and the right side of the plane dipped for a good 10 seconds. Then a bit of a nosedive. But the pilot reassured us it was "just a wake from another plane, but nothing too much to worry..." yeah right! We finally landed going 1001 mph, and suddenly everyone cheered and the flight attendant played a victory sound over the loudspeak. It was the most bizarre thing I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED. But again, it was cheap. We got off the plane, got on a train, and within hours, were touching Oxford soil. All in one piece (peace), thanks to RyanScare, theives, and a beautiful scenery.
