Ana_Last Two Months

July 1 - September 5
It has been a while. So much has happened...Last time I wrote it was about the Safari. Internet access was difficult in Africa and I felt lazy to catch up. I've been keeping a journal, but don't feel typing it to this blog. We're now in Tibe,China. Tim is catching up where he left off. I've re-cap what stood out in my mind the most in the last two months. Here you go...


Tanzania Last few days
- Tim locked me out of beach hut by accident. Started crying like a little girl. I had to pee so bad that had to do it in the room near the door. I was in the room for like 40 minutes. Tim walked to a quite a scene - me standing on the ledge of the bed, crying and a wet floor. He felt so bad after.

- Got stung by a jelly fish in Zanzibar. It hurt like crazy. But I was OK! The water was crystal clear, it's like what you see in photos. I didn’t see anything swimming but felt the sting.

- Eating at fish market every night. Had fried plantains with a pitta like thing. Greasy but good!

- Boat ride from hell! Coming back from Zanzibar we took the fast boat, the only option. It was so wavy and crowded inside the boat. Tim had the patch and everything and still got green and yellow. He hat to go outside. I followed as well. I was getting claustrophobic, couldn't breath. Didn't know who was going to help who. I've never seen Tim so pale. We were glad to touch land.


Zambia
- Overland to Livingstone, Zambia. It took a total of 37 hours. Last seven hours was in a mini van that they kept dropping off and picking up people every second it seemed like. It was so crowded. The kids or luggage in the van didn't count as people. It was so tight. They kept saying squeezing, squeezing, to fit more passengers. Towards the end I had not patience. I kept saying NO SQUEEZING. And wouldn't move one inch.

- Couldn't get money out. The only ATM available was visa, of course. It was the weekend, had to wait until Monday to get cash in advance from the local bank. We had few dollars to get by.


- Got super homesick two days before my birthday. I was so sad. Tim didn't know what to do with me. Internet sucked and couldn't call anywhere. I felt totally disconnected from everyone. Second time on the trip I really wanted to go home. Survived!

- Saw the Victoria Falls at night under a full moon on July 11th. It was supernatural. We even saw a rainbow. Had no idea rainbows could also show up during the night. It was beautiful. Was feeling much better. The same night we met a really nice brother and sister from England, Alesh and Maya.

- On my birthday. Manage to use the internet. Received several birthday wishes. I felt the love even from far away. During the day we went to a local village to mingle with them. Even visited the local school. At night went to the only nice restaurant in town had pizza and beer. Back in the hostel Maya and Alesh had a nice surprise they made hats out of newspaper and had a piece of chocolate for me. And Tim had a slice of cake with a box of matches as the candles. I thought that was really sweet. After all in ended up being an adventurous birthday. Won’t forget my 28th Birthday!!!


Namibia
- Ended up traveling together with Maya and Alesh to the Caprivi Strip. We went camping in Ngepi camp. So peaceful. Saw hippos very close, too close. Bought a watermelon tent, like Tim called it. It was bright red and green. We saved a lot of money by doing that. It was so hideous looking.

- Heard hippos at night. Our tent was near the river. It was cool to hear, scary too. Alesh laughed like a hippo. I couldn't help laughing when he did.

- Alesh and Maya taught us some English slang and words. They kept saying things like PASS ME THE TORCH PLEASE?..I'M GOING TO THE LOO...I RECKON WE SHOULD DO THIS... WHAT DO YOU TWO FANCY DOING?...Using words like BISCUITS for cookies,CHIPS for french fries, CRISPS for potato chips. Tim's favorite DOGS BOLLOCKS. He still can say it right. We also tried to teach them some American slang. It was funny. I loved their accent. Good times.

- In Swakopmund bought few sculptures. First time I really had fun bartering. The vendors kept laughing. I kept saying OH is too much! The kept saying I was the boss, I like that. This town was where Angelina Jolie had her baby. Had no idea.
Also celebrated Tim's birthday in this town. Went to the movies saw Xmen 3 and the went for pizza and beer. =)


South Africa
- Spent a week in Cape Town pretty much partying. We drank every night. Alesh and Maya where there too. Met other cool locals Shakir and Simon. One of the night I got super drunk. Tim had to almost carry me home. The worse part got drunk from the worse wine Tassenberg, really cheap wine ($3US). Even puked on my shoes. Don’t remember parts of the night. Pretty bad.

- Visited Robben Island. Nice to see but a bit sad to hear what went on. Kinda of a depressing tour. We saw Nelson Mandela cell.

- Went shark diving! Saw 2 great whites under water. I was so claustrophobic in the cage I only managed to stay like 5 minutes. But at least I saw two sharks!!! AMAZING experience. They look so peaceful swimming and then in two second the jump for the bait. So fast. I got one good video of one jumping with the big jaw. Rough seas. People where puking left and right. I didn't get sick, neither did Tim. On the way back to land we saw two whales. Couldn't ask for more. I finally saw a whale in the ocean.


Europe
Munich - Transit
- Scariest flight yet! Capetown - Munich direct flight, 11 hrs. We had some really bad turbulence and at one point the plane drop really fast. I was so scared. But good thing it got better. I squeezed Tim's hands so hard. Yikes!

- Stayed overnight in the airport hotel. We had a layover of 16 hours. Too long to just sleep on the chairs. The most expensive room yet ($190 US), but well worth it.The room so nice and clean. Slept like a baby!


London, England 2 days
- Brian and Patrick where waiting for us when we arrived. SO NICE TO SEE THEM!
Only stayed two nights in London. Super fast! Met with Maya one night for a pint. It was weird to be back in civilization. Lines, order, everything so clean...

- The one full day we had walked everywhere saw the Buckingham Palace, Wesminsiter Abbey, Big Ben, Millenium Bridge and the London Bridge (no big deal).It felt we walked like 20 miles. London is so huge!


Paris, France 1 day
- It took longer to get to the airport than actually fly to Paris. Where there in a hour from London. Literally had about 24 hours in Paris.

- Saw the Eiffel tower. More impressive in person. Climbed 700 stairs to the middle part of the tower. Lookout to the city. It was beautiful to see it lit at night.

- Same day saw the Arch of Triumph. Again more impressive in person. Really tall. Next half day visited the Notre Dame and Luv Museum. Saw the Mona Lisa! Later on that day took train to Amsterdam. Finally could relax. It took only 4 hours.


Amsterdam, Holland 3 days
- What can I say ...party, party! Eating, drinking and smoking. YIKES! =)

- They boys loved the red light district. Especially the last night. Patrick and Tim kept saying we where lost going back to the hotel. Kept taking the side streets with more girls on in the display window. After an hour of walking I said "OK BOYS TIME TO GO." I didn't mind looking with them. It was actually fun. Some of the girls where really beautiful. We even saw a couple (like husband and wife) negotiating with one of them. Crazy!

- It was sad saying bye to Brian. It was nice to see family. We had fun even though it was only 6 days. At least we kept travelling Patrick for another week.


Rome, Italy 4 days
- ROMA! Not as impressed with the people ?rude and arrogant. The city itself a bit dirty. You saw a lot of graffiti.

- Millions of tourist. The line to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel took an hour just to get in. And we arrived before it opened. Sites where still impressive. Tons of history. It was nice to actually see it. Saw the Coliseum, Pantheon, the Basilica in the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel.

- My favorite was the Basilica. So beautiful inside. Tall ceilings, elaborate columns and the marble sculptures just stunning! We spend like an hour just looking around. OH, and saw the original of Michelangelo's famous Pieta, gorgeous marble sculpture. You couldn't get close to it.


Switzerland 12 days
Loved seeing Tia Sa, Lawrence and primito Gabriel!!! It抯 so great to be with family. Gabriel is so adorable. He is only 2 but cant talk and retain information like crazy. So smart! He remembers everything you tell him even few days after.

- Spend about week in their house. Patrick left on the weekend. It was to see him go too!

- Babysat for Gabriel one night. Had to learn how to change a diaper, feed him and the bath routine. He is so great he didn't give me any problems. =)

- Took few days to figure out what to do next. Couldn't get our Russian visa. We had to get it back in California, not possible in another consulate. So the Trans Siberian journey was out of the question. Managed to get the Chinese visa. Had to wait a week to get it.

- Tia Sa and Lawrence lend us the car to tour around Switzerland. So sweet of them. I loved it. Beautiful mountains and houses. Everything so picture perfect. We saw the Matterhorn in Zermatt. WOW! I have to say Switzerland is one of my favorite countries in Europe. I'll love to go back in the winter one day.


Barcelona, Spain 6 days
- Love the fact I could communicate. It was refreshing to speak Spanish again. I loved it!

- Crowded city. Tons of tourist but great vibe. It's a party city. I love the fact you can just eat the outdoor cafes. I finally had true paella. It's one of their specialty dishes. I had a vegetable one, since I don't like seafood that much. Very good! We drank a lot of Sangria too. I kept trying new places in quest for the best sangria in town. They did taste different like the one from home. Stronger for sure!

- The best entertainers ever! One of the major streets Las Palmas in Barcelona you'll find a series of street performers doing just random things like standing still in metal looking customs when you tip them they抣l pedal in their bikes, a guy dressed like Rhonaldino, disco dancers all dressed in white, with wigs on and sunglasses will dance every time you tip them as well. This couple was my favorite. When they stayed still they had a smile on their faces. It was funny! I don抰 know how they did it. I wanted to tip them all the time just to see them dance with no music all crazy. One of my favorite things in Barcelona. Very entertaining!

Had the worse roommates yet! Shared the room with four other girls. The room was super tiny, barely could walk between the bunk beds. Two of the roommates were really inconsiderate would turn the ac whenever they felt like it even though it was super hot in the room as well turning the lights on when they came in late at night. Couldn't stand it! Finally moved to another hostel and had our own room.

- Beach scene very happening! Tim loved it! Topless women everywhere. Even the older ladies. Tim didn't like that so much?


Berlin, Germany 5 days
- Had the biggest burger in my 28 years of existence. It was in a Kiwi restaurant around the corner from our hostel. It took me like two days to digest that thing. It came with fries and salad. The cheese on the burger was like two inches dip. So yummy at the time!

- Really enjoyed all the tours. Learned a lot about the history of Berlin. Visited one concentration camp. Really hit me what happened during those years. There were few rooms I couldn’t go in, just to know what happened and how the people suffered. I'm glad I went it gives me a different perspective when I'll hear about it again, it has a different meaning now. I understand it better.

- People surprisingly friendly! Had two people stopped in the streets and asked us if we needed help. Of course we looked like the biggest tourist with our maps out. I thought that was very nice! Also had a lady give us her monthly pass. She wasn't going to use it any more. It was good for one more day.

- Went to Pub and Crawl! We paid 10 Euros each and had free beer for 30 minutes and the free vodka shots all night. The shots where mixed with OJ. So not too bad. I was buzzed but not shit faced. It was a lot of fun. We went with other people from the hostel. It was a big group. One guy we met was pretty funny. I’ll never forget him. His line was he is from NORTH CAROLINA! They way he said it was hilarious. I knew right away he wasn't from there. I asked to say that again. And he said "Shit!" Are you American?" I said yes and you're not from North Carolina. Mind you he was very white with red hair and green eyes. But his accent sounded funny. His girlfriend said you抣l never guess where he is from ?BARCELONA. I was like no way. I started talking to him in Spanish and told him he was un mentiroso. He said that people find him interesting when he says he is from North Carolina. He was a character for sure. The night ended about 3:30am! Very good night.


Prague, Czech Republic 3 days
- Fairytale city. It looked like Disneyland. Palace is gorgeous. Love the garden, so perfectly cut and green.

- Low key city but with quaint atmosphere.

- Had the best dessert yet. This rolled churro type thing but was covered with sugar, vanilla and crushed almond. So yummy! And eating it hot was the best, so crunchy.

- Near our hostel met Greg, Mr. Personality. He is from Santa Rosa, California. He was so much fun to hangout with. We kept talking about Taco Bell and stuff. He was traveling around Europe I think for month. He was leaving the same day we where flying to Beijing. He was going back home to start his master. Last night in Prague, came over to his hostel it had a nice bar. We hung out with like 10 people. The only American where us 3. It was fun to be around Ausies, Kiwis, Irish and English people. Tim kept joking as he got drunk that it was the worse table for an American to be around when you’re drunk since the accents got thicker. For me it was the Irish accent the hardest to understand. But lovely people. Same night one of the guys bought the table two rounds of “absent” shot. It’s like 70% alcohol. You dip the spoon in the drink then you put sugar and light it on fire. After that you dip the spoon with the sugar in the shot and dissolve it and wait for the fire to go off. And drink it! Greg had the smartest idea to have it lit in his mouth. Since he dripped his chin was on fire too. It was like Reality TV. A guy sitting across him got a video of him. Poor guy he was hurting after. Tim was pretty drunk by this time. I told him he was going to be hurting in the morning since we had to wake up early 4:30am to take the cab to the airport. We left the bar around midnight. Tim was hungry the only thing we found was a soggy sandwich and kept making him drink water. He was so cute! He kept telling thank you for taking care of him. Yeap! He was pretty drunk.

Had a great time in Europe!!! I'll post about China soon.
Ana