KC's Journal

Day One: Tricia and I woke up and gathered our stuff together and were getting ready to head out the door to pick up the others when we realized we couldn’t find our phone card.
After searching we decided we would just have to buy another. So we headed to go pick up Domonique and she showed us her phany pack and Tricia decided that we needed to get some just like Domonique’s. After this was decided we picked up Terry and went to walmart to get gas and a Bolivar Commercial so we could take a picture with it to show our apperciation for them writing an article about us. We were going to stop at dollar tree which is nearby walmart to get the phanny packs but we soon found out that they didn’t open till nine and it was about 8:20
(our plan was to be out of cleveland by 8 but Tricia and I are normally 20 minutes late for things) so we decided to stop by a dollar tree when we got to South Haven. When we got to South Haven we stopped at a Stake and shake to get food and use the restroom before we stopped at Melissa’s house. While we were at stake and shake Melissa gave us directions to a dollar tree so we stopped there really quickly and pick out which phany pack we wanted. while Tricia was buying them Terry Domonique and I went and sat in the car which was parked in front of the game stop next door. right as Tricia was walking to the car and man in a ball cap walks out of the game stop inhales deeply and and takes off his hat and starts talking to Tricia all we could hear her say was “Thank you Sir” as she got into the car. Turns out the man was telling her that she was beautiful. (No suprise there) When we left Dollar tree we went to Melissa’s house where we loaded out stuff into her mom’s car and her car and we head to the airport. When we reached the Airport I tried calling home but appearently JC was the only one home so I let him know we were at the airport and told him to tell all of you.(which I am not sure if he did or not but I guess it doesn’t matter now) So we checked in at the airport and weighed our bags. (I only remember my bags wieght and the weight of Terry’s bag because his bag weighed the most at 37 pounds and mine weighed the least at 17 pounds. After checking in and getting our bags checked Melissa left to drop off her car while we went through security. When we got to our gate we waitedto board and while we waited to board the following things happened: Melissa came back from droping off her car, and Terry was assigned a seat on the plane and and traded with Tricia so he could sit with the rest of us. When we boarded the plane to Atlanta it was soon discoved that Tricia was sitting by some extremely attractive girls (Terry was very disapointed that he had traded seats with her now). The plane ride to Atlanta lasted about 2 1/2 hours. When we reaced Atlanta we went to our gate and we did things like go to the bathroom and get snacks. After all that was accomplished we sat and waited while we waited we met part of our tour group from Minnesota, Their group leaders name was Mrs. Ailors, we though it was hilarious. We were delayed broarding the plane for a while because they had to clean the plane but eventually we boarded our long flight to Spain. Nothing that interesting happened on that plane I sat and lisstened to music and tried to sleep. Then we landed in Madrid spain and got our passports stamped and where greeted by Leonore. We didn’t have time to get cash to tip the driver for driving us to our hotel(well more like three blocks away from our hotel because the bus was to big to fit on the street where our hotel was located.) So Tricia ran and found an ATM while we were unloading the bus. When we got to our hotel we stored our luggage in a locked room because our rooms weren’t ready yet and we went on a “walking tour” of Madrid (since Leonore was our logistics guide she didn’t have a license to give us a tour of Madrid so she would tell our groups leaders and they would tell us so we wouldn’t get fined.) After our “tour” we went and had lunch it was great. We had a salad and pasta and ice cream. Then we went back to the hotel and got our rooms and got ready to go to the Prado. We only had three hours to see the Prado so I booked it and managed to see the entire place inside and out. BEAUTIFUL. After the Prado we where on out own for dinner so we got some pizza and kebabs(kebabs are like gyros). Then we went back to our hotel and went to bed.(Day one was really two days but it felt like one.)
Day two!
I woke up and showered(European bathrooms aren’t as bad as everyone has told me) Got dressed and went and knocked on Tricias door little did I know that she had woken up at 2 in the morning because she heard a knock and hadn’t been able to sleep since. (yay me…) So Tricia got ready and we had scripture study lately we have been reading in Acts. Then we met for breakfast and walked to a little cafe and had pastries(yummy) cereal(they eat their cereal with hot milk) hot cocoa and orange juice. Then Leonor took us on a tour to show us the best shopping. I bought a jacket two scarves and a hair pin. The whole time we were shopping Melissa really needed to go to the hard rock cafe in Madrid to buy a T-Shirt for her sister and little Melissa. We didn’t end up with enough time to get over there because we had to leave at one to go to lunch and go to the on our real tour of Madrid (which included a tour of the royal palace) We had lunch in another cafe but since we were sort of last to arrive we were forced to separate and sit with the other members of our group, I don’t remember who sat with who but I sat with some girls from Crystal Lake Illinois. They were nice. Lunch was good we had veggiething that I can’t describe well looked like what happens to veggies that are in a roast and are cooked to long but it was really good, then we had meatballs and french fries and ice cream. After we finished lunch we walked to the royal palace and took pictures while we waited to get inside. The second we walked though the gates it started to rain and everyone got really soaked, the palace was beautiful( we have pictures so if you want to see them just ask and I will attach them) Because of the rain I pulled my hair up in a ponytail to protect it, Terry thought it would be a great idea to tell me my hair looked horrible.(it made me feel like crap but that castle was gorgous and people took pictures to prove I looked good so I stopped caring.)
Then we got on a bus and went on another real tour of madrid. When we stopped to take pictures Melissa got out of the bus and ran to Hard Rock and in the mean time Tricia made us stall for her and take pictures. We almost got left by the bus because of those stupid tshirts. (I was not happy about that.) The interesting thing about the place we stopped to take pictures was there used to be a fountain and and huge statue of Chistopher Columbo, but it was moved into the center of a roundabout. I thought it was really lame that it was moved there when it would look way cooler where it was.
After our tour we were droped off at the hotel until our tapas and churros night which had to meet in the lobby for at about 8. We walked to a restruant that was in a cave like dungeon for tapas, We had eggs and sausage, brisuto and cheese and really nasty calimaury(it was like rubber) During the meal which we were all seeted together at really small tables and tiny benches Tricia was talking to a boy from Iwoa and I didn’t really hear what they were saying because there was a pillar in the way, they were having a pretty indepth discussion. Towards the end of dinner a bunch of trubadors seranaded us and tried hitting on Tricia but she was oblivious to it and denies it happened. but it totally did. After the show we went to get chocolate and chorros. I was really good except for the part where Terry stuck some churros up his nose. It made me lose all will to ever eat again. As we were walking back I found out why Tricia was talking to that boy from Iwoa, It turns out he was also LDS, the second it was discovered I was teased by Melissa because we were the only mormon kids on the tour. Bleh, he was cute but I think he was to much of a ladies man for my taste. Anyways when we got back Tricia wanted to know if we wanted to experience the madrid night life. I voted for sleep but everyone else wanted to explore so I went to sleep and waited for Domonique to get back because we shared a room and I also packed and made sure I had everything.When Domonique came back I fell dead alseep.(Only to be woken up in the middle of the night to hear someone calling for Carlos. Seriously I felt like shouting out the window Estoy Aqui in a very manly voice. dont worry I didn’t)
Day 3
I woke up early and got ready made sure that I was packed, and headed to Tricia and Melissa’s room Where the wher still packing and getting ready and alll that jazz. About 5 seconds later Micheal and Terry show up and we read before we went downstairs to eat breakfast which was good (same thing as yesterday). We then walked back to the hotel and gathered our stuff and walked to the area the bus would pick us up. We then loaded our stuff on the bus and headed out of the beautiful city of Madrid on our way to Toledo. It took forever but eventually we arrived there and HOLY TOLEDO It was beautiful! They had this sweet out door escalator, so people wouldn’t get tired walking up the mountain. We saw the cathedral there and It was really beautiful and full of Greco paintings, our tour guide Carlos pointed out that most of the hands in grecos paintings where his wifes because he considered her hands perfection. It was a really cool place, It is one place that I really want to go back and visit someday. After walking around and seeing some cool things and learning that Toledo was once home to Christians, Muslims, and Jews and they managed to live in peace until Isabel and Ferdinand kicked everybody but the christians out. We went to the sword factory and saw how they beat the metal and this thing where they inlay gold into steal, I bought a dagger. It is pretty sweet. Then we got back on the bus and headed to Grenada. We got there in the Evening and I didn’t feel well so I missed out on seeing the gypsy caves and dancing but I heard it was pretty sweet.
Day 4 I woke up aand got ready and packed up and we went to see the Alahambra. It was the castle of the last moores in Spain. It was beautiful, but It kind of made me sad and a little angry because It was a shell of it’s former self and I was not very happy about the french blowing up part of it. After seeing the the building we got to walk around the gardens and we took a lot of pictures. When we where finished we got back on the bus and said good bye to Grenanda(I am kinda sad we didn’t get to see more of the city) and headed on our way to Sevilla. When we where first driving into sevilla it was very hard to figure out why sevilla was Leonore favorite city because when we first drove in it was very industrial looking and then we got to our hotel and started walking around. The arcitecture was stuff I had only seen in movies, It made me want to go back in time. We were in outr hotel and the other where going to a flamanco show so we decided to go shopping while we where getting ready to go melissa burst into room and we thought we heard her say I met someone and we are going to Grenanda( earlier she was talking about how she want to get married in the Alahambra) So in our minds she had just told us that she had met a complete stranger and she was on her way to Grenada to get hitched, but in reality she had just met a couple who were on their way there and while they where in Sevilla they had bumped into Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.(whoopee) Anyways we went shopping and then we came back for dinner where we where invited by the group from Illinios to go to a cafe, while the other groups went on a boat and had a disco party. It was fun walking around the city at night. I got hot chocolate, It was yummy. then we came back to the Hotel and I fell in to a very deep sleep.