My Week in "Paradise"

My week in Saint Tropez was lovely in many ways but at times it was actually like I was actually under house arrest. The heaven I was staying in was gated and I had to ask to leave the house and schedule my coming back to ensure that someone would be home to let me in.  We were also not in Saint Tropez. We were 25km   outside of the city so I was very isolated to say the least. 

Twice, I was so bored I risked my life walking to the beach up and down a winding hill. It was in no way safe to be walked on but I was willing to put my life on the line to get a break from the kids! It was a little like being a white collar criminal. They put you up in these lovely prisons which everything you could possibly need, but at the end of the day you are still trapped, so it isn't what you want! 

In addition to feeling completely isolated, the area we were in reminded me a lot of home, which made me the most homesick I think I have ever been.  This is a good thing in some ways though, because while since being released back into society, I have adapted to back into my social life, but I am also excited to go home. I have been talking to friends about exploring San Diego in new ways! And I am returning to somewhere similar to the South of France, so it can't be all bad right?

Here are some pictures of my week! They are beautiful and I really have NOTHING to complain about. The pool was great, the temperature was high, and there were beaches! But just wait for the post after I am sent to the woods in a few weeks with  just two of the kids and the French side of the family! Talk about isolation..

My adorable Baby Gaga and I playing by the pool.

Our time at the fair

My death walk to the HEAVENLY beaches!

The dock in San Tropez

G and P

Baptized - Barcelona Style

Last weekend, eight women ventured to spend a three/four day weekend in Barcelona! That should be enough said about our trip but I will explain a little more! We skipped the Picasso and much of the Gaudi and instead focused on the nightlife, beach, and food! 

After a short flight, we landed and met up with Shelly at the Market.  It was a wonderful place that we visited the following day. Tapas, fresh fruit, and smoothie! So much meat and seafood (much of which was still moving). 

As you will notice, there is a large gap in my pictures! I didn't carry my camera with me most of the time so I have pictures when we first arrived and then sitting on the beach on Sunday! It was raining when we got to Barcelona so we spent some time in our apartment drinking some wine and getting ready to go out. 

We wandered the city and came across some great Tapas, Sangria, and weird old men.  Then met up with a friend of a friend and all of his friends for a drink and then finally grabbed dinner. We ended up at a club called CatWalk.  The music was awesome and we danced the night away! 

After a late night we slept in and made some eggs and bacon for breakfast while we waited for Nicole to arrive. Once she got there we wandered the city a bit more, returned the the market, and enjoyed the sunshine. Anna and I headed to the police station, as we were baptized in Barcelona by being robbed.  And once we arrived at the police station we discovered that it is a great place to meet other tourists! 

After getting ready, having a fabulous birthday dinner for Anna's BIG 2-0! We surprised her with a cake and some Cava! Then we were ready for our second night out.  This time we were going to see a DJ of some sort with that friend of a friend. Instead of the DJ, we ended up seeing an AWESOME Ramones coverband. As it turned out the original drummer from the Ramones was playing and the lead singer was from the Misfits. It was another amazing night of dancing!

Sunday we headed to the beach. There was napping, some Swedish cider (absolutely delicious!), and some time in the sea. It was wonderful to be on a beach. There were people constantly wondering around selling everything from body shawls (which sounded like body shots) and my favorite man who was saying co-co-co--coa-nut. In a way that you couldn't figure it out until you saw what he was actually selling. We also decided to get some matching henna tattoos so we could remember our wonderful weekend until it is washed away!

The Birthday Girl!

We ended the weekend with a delicious meal and some more sangria.  We walked back and chatted in the apartment for the rest of the night. It was really a great weekend with some great girls! I am so glad we got to get in a big trip together before we all start to head off in different directions! 

Sometimes life doesn't seem real

My Studio apartment for the week

I really am never leaving

View from my door

The garden

The house

More of the yard

I am in St. Tropez for the week working!  I am going to ride a bike to the beach and spend the day between the sand and sea! 

More Spain; More Tapas

In between exploring Madrid, Rachel and I left for a few days to explore some other cities in Spain. I have a long time friend, Ellen, who has lived in Malaga (aka by the beach) for two years. (PS. By long time friend, I mean we have known each other since we were 4!). So after staying up all night on Friday night, we ventured to the bus station to take a 6 hour night bus ride to Malaga. 

After wondering the streets and finding Ellen's apartment and a short nap we were off to the BEACH! That is right, THE BEACH! It was a perfect day outside. We sat in the sun for 7 hours! It was GLORIOUS and ended with a few uneven sunburns. Ellen lives with a few people from the area who speak very little (no) English. Ellen did a lot of translating, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I could understand of their conversation. 

After our wonderful beach day, we explored the city on Monday.  It is a really cute city.  It was Semana Santa (Holy Week) so there were people everywhere and several parades throughout the day.  It was an interesting to watch their celebrations and traditional attire.  These robes came in all sorts of colors, including white. It was slightly creepy.  These men and children were dressed and walked down the street followed by a large statue of the Virgin Mary.  We found this in Malaga, Sevilla, and Toledo, however the rain put a bit of a damper (pun intended) on the festivities after Monday.

While wondering the city, I spotted legitimate frozen yogurt! The rainy week had begun and this made up for it! There are two things I miss a lot from home, (food-wise), frozen yogurt (tart with strawberries) and Mexican food. Spain succeeded in giving me both. It was GLORIOUS. 

After Malaga, we took a morning bus to Sevilla, where we explored the city. I highly recommend this city as well.  It was an adorable city situated on a river (as most European cities are).  The Cathedral looked massive from the outside, but since there were so many festivities, we couldn't go inside.  

We did explore the Palace and took some obligatory jumping pictures (in the rain). It was a very pretty area. You could even rent a boat and go around in the water in the center of the bug square. Due to rain we abstained. 

Between Italy and Spain, I just keep finding my name written everywhere. I have also decided that taking constant pictures of these moments is also necessary! 

The Cathedral. After lunch and finding some food for the bus ride back we headed back to Madrid because it was POURING! This was the rest of Spain, however, I still loved the country. Considering my dislike for any weather other than hot and sunny, this says a lot! 

Cinque Terre

I loved Cinque Terre! I had a rough start with my journey there. I had an unreserved seat on the train which apparently meant you need to get your ticket validated before you get on the train. I didn't know this and ended up paying an extra 5 Euro for my ticket =(

I was also exhausted from traveling already. While my hostel was very nice, clean, and safe, the halls echoed a lot and I spent the night before listening to someone throw up in the bathroom down the hall. So I was a little behind on sleep!

I got to Cinque Terre and arrived at my hostel in Corniglia without problems. They were cleaning so I was only able to lock up my bag and begin my day of hiking! Then I started to hike to the next town and the trail was closed so I had to buy a train ticket to even get there. I was very annoyed since I had already paid for a ticket to be able to hike all the trails.  So far the trip was not going well...

I wandered around the next two towns and began to take pictures. At this point on the trip, I had a million pictures of pretty things, statues, buildings etc. Traveling alone means few silly/fun pictures of you and your family or friends.  I decided that this was going to change! This meant that I was became extremely good friends with the self-timer on my camera! All I can say is that I believe I was very entertaining to all my fellow tourists as they hiked.

I can't put into words how beautiful Cinque Terre is. There is a beautiful smell that engulfs all of the trails. The cliffs, vineyards, villages, and ocean leave nothing left to desire.  It is truly and amazing place. I would completely go back to swim and hike more! There are trails throughout the hills and along the ocean. I did the ones along the ocean but I am sure that the views and hikes from other places are amazing as well!

I played a game with friends once where the photographer would say something and then we would react to the phrase (example: A monkey is chasing you up a banana tree) as they took the picture. It is actually quite entertaining! I high recommend playing the game. Anyway, I had this game in my head as I began my 5th day travels alone. It entertained me immensely!

What most of the villages looked like. Colorful houses with lots of personality!

It looked like the sun was setting all day

And then there is my photo shoot! When I reached Montorosso my entire day turned around. I was standing in the ocean and everything was perfect! Then my beach photo shoot began! 

Didn't get far enough from the camera in this shot!

My first attempt at a jumping picture! I was pretty impressed with myself. 

Fortunately for everyone walking by I didn't stop trying!

I am literally running back and forth from my camera every 10 seconds. 

Perfection!

We ended with another great one!

It was then time to conquer the rock!

View from the top

 The color all ocean water should be! So pretty!!

Then I started to hike again. 

See the beach in the distance? That is where I was! Sooo many stairs were climbed!

Getting a bit hot!

Then it started to rain. And I mean pour. I slowly put my layers back on..Finally reaching the next town. 

If you look at these pictures closely you can see that I am, in fact, drenched. My sweatshirt weighed a ton! 

Rain!

Got back to my hostel and took a warm shower. I met another girl from Australia in my Hostel. We ate dinner together and shared some great conversation. We met a Corniglia (the village I was staying in) native and talked to him for the rest of the night. It seemed that most people in the area made their own wine and had a love/hate relationship with the tourist season.  It was the perfect ending to my solo Italy trip! 

I